The Fairy's Tale
by Somber Secrets
Summary: Levy traps herself in a spell where she must finish seven fairy tales in order to escape. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe
1. Prologue

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

Disclaimer: I do not own what I do not own.

Note: Occurs after Edolas and before Tenrou Island

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><p>Prologue:<p>

Levy murmured softly as she turned her head to the right and flipped the page of her text before she turned back to the parchment in front of her and scribbled down certain notes before turning back to the heavy leather bound book at her side. She hissed lightly as she scratched out the words that she had just written and flipped back five pages before sighing and straightening out her back.

"I need to think about investing in a desk and chair," Levy sighed as she stretched her arms to the sky and picked herself off the ground. Mirajane had delivered a glass of water to her hours before, only to receive back a wave and more murmurs before Levy had shoved her nose back into her books. Levy had promised Mirajane in a quick spew of mumbles that she would take a break if she made a mistake and two hours later that promise had been fulfilled.

Oddly Mirajane had hung around for at least fifteen minutes longer simply grinning to herself, but Levy paid no mind. Mirajane was one of the odd ones, though that wasn't saying anything while she was still considered a part of Fairy Tail.

Once the glass had been drowned, Levy took a quick look out the round window close to the library's ceiling and noticed that the moon was out and the sun had sunken. "No wonder Mira-chan was worried," Levy laughed as she walked back to her pile of research material and knelt down to collect all her texts into a neat and orderly stack.

Slowly Levy lugged the books, three at a time, to a taped off corner of the guild's library. The tiny corner had been labeled with her name in big bubbly letters indicating that that corner was all her own. No one had her denied her that right considering that most of them already thought that the whole entire place belonged to her anyways. Lucy always asked for Levy's permission to enter the room, to the blue haired girl's amusement, and wouldn't fix her habit no matter how many times Levy commented on it.

When all her books were stacked up in orderly piles in her designated corner, Levy quickly scurried to the large doors of the library and pushed them open. Taking a short trip down the hallway and turning a corner she found herself on the first floor of her beloved Fairy Tail guild. Lucy quickly gave her a loud greeting from the other side of the room with a flourished wave before the blond turned back to Erza to discuss a mission. Natsu and Gray were being no help as they were once again tossing each other into walls; Elfman was simply on the sidelines itching for a good chance to join in. Levy was slightly shocked to see that instead of just staring on the sidelines like Juvia was prone to usually do when Gray got in a fight, the woman was scurrying around the scuffle with red cheeks and waving arms.

Before Levy could think more about the odd sight a grunt echoed to her left and Levy turned her head to look, knowing who would be sitting all alone in the back of the tavern. "Evening Gajeel!" Levy squeaked as she ignored the pressure that was blooming on the inside of her stomach. It was like a hook that was tugging her whole entire being in the opposite direction telling her to run. Just to run.

He grunted again and nodded at her. Pantherlily smiled at her and waved his tiny paws as Levy happily waved her fingers back at the Exceed. Fairly quickly enough, Levy made a short dash to the table that her team was sitting at and Jet and Droy gave her a warm welcome. Once she had gotten seated on the wooden bench Levy quickly took a look up at Gajeel as he drowned a tankard of his favorite drink before standing up and leaving the guild with a yell of challenge directed Natsu's way. Oddly enough both Gray and Natsu shouted back before Elfman finally found his opening and joined into the scuffle.

Levy knew that the small morsel of fear toward the Iron Dragon Slayer in her was absolutely and totally irrational; she felt ashamed that it still manifested itself in his presence, but the memories wouldn't go away. Her heart and her mind had accepted him long ago, sometimes her heart even pulled her toward him in an attempt for conversation, but then her body would push and pull with all its might, her skin and muscles remembering the pain that he had inflicted on her all those months ago.

He had saved her from Laxus and had proved his worth to her in every way that she knew the man could think of, but her body refused and tears sprung to her eyes whenever she got just a little bit too close. She wanted to hit her head on some very solid rock, do something, anything, so that she could talk to the reformed man like any average person. Nothing had solved her problem as of yet.

Levy dropped her chin down on her table with a loud thunk as she let out a long sigh. She truly did want to talk to the man more, the time that he had sat beside her while she had been trying to decode Fried's spell was, in earnest, one of her most dear memories.

"Something is wrong with me," Levy murmured as she turned her head to the side and faced the rest of Fairy Tail. Gajeel was already at the guild's doors but for some strange reason he hadn't exited and instead had turned his head to look at… Levy? Levy blinked.

"Bye Gajeel!" Mirajane shouted over the ruckus of her Nakama as she placed a plate of food beside Levy's head. Levy's eyebrows pulled together as she swore that she saw Gajeel scowl and Mirajane's voice tinkle with that unmistakable tone of pure evil. Levy quickly turned her head to face the barmaid, but innocence had already innocently saturated Mirajane's innocent eyes as she innocently questioned Levy innocently, "Is something the matter?"

"Mira-chan…"

"Innocent question," Mirajane perked as she smiled and giggled. Levy could hear the dark undertones of a cackle but the barmaid had long disappeared before Levy could make another comment.

"Seriously, it's like she's egging him on," Jet muttered as he rested his cheek on the palm of his hand.

"Who's Mira-chan egging on?" Levy asked as she turned her head again so that her chin was resting against the wooden table. Only now did she realize that the first time she had dropped her chin on the table was when she had scrapped her skin until it was raw and pink. Sitting up properly Levy rubbed at the abrasion and then heard the guild doors close as Gajeel finally made his leave.

Droy just laughed and waved her off nervously, "Don't worry, it's none of your concern."

"Don't tell me you're hiding something from me," Levy frowned and puffed up her cheeks as her most standard issue weapon came into play.

Her two teammates gulped as her eyes shone and watered before they both stood up with a flourish even greater than that of Natsu's. "Don't you remember that thing that we had to do for that… someone Jet?" Droy hoarsely babbled.

"Yes, that thing for that one, come Droy!"

"We would love to answer your question Levy, but as was said, thing for someone," and they were out the door before Levy could jump over the table and grab either one of them. Levy pouted and picked up her fork as she stabbed one of the vegetables on the plate that Mirajane had left for her.

She heard the rustling before Lucy sat down and Levy turned to her best friend with the pout still pulling at her face, "They're hiding something from me Lu-chan," Levy whined.

Lucy just giggled at Levy's antics before shaking her head, "They aren't hiding anything, you just aren't noticing."

"Noticing?" Levy inquired as she stuck the vegetable in her mouth and chewed. With a swallow she continued, "What am I not noticing?"

Lucy laughed as she leaned forward and rested her chin on the back of her folded hands, "Who do you greet first every single time that you come out of the library?"

"You," Levy answered instantaneously.

"Who's the second?"

"Gajeel…"

"Where does he always sit?"

"Closest to the library doors, but isn't that just Gajeel's table like this table is Shadowgear's?"

Lucy giggled and shook her head, "About thirty seconds prior to you appearing, Gajeel chucked Gray, who was talking to Juvia, right out of his seat at the table, aiming right at Natsu, and hunkered right down in that spot. Oddly enough about thirty seconds after you appeared he just left too. A lot of trouble for a one minute seating at 'his' table, you think?"

"Everyone in Fairy Tail has their own quirks, Mira-chan for example," Levy murmured as she quickly stuffed her face with three pieces of cut steak. However, that explanation really did explain why Juvia had been reacting the way that she had to Natsu and Gray's daily scuffles and why Gray had taken such offence to the fact that Gajeel was leaving. Levy wondered what the ice user and the water mage had been discussing in solitude before Gajeel had abruptly interrupted. Juvia had probably been on a high too, that poor girl. Levy wondered if Gray had finally manned up and had told her that he returned her feelings. Levy peeked back at the scuffle and thought that that probably wasn't the case considering the fact that Juvia wasn't a puddle of water.

"That's all you have to say?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"Is that supposed to be odd? People grab other people and throw them around daily."

Lucy couldn't argue with that one, "Oh Levy… sometimes you're just _too_ book smart and not enough in all the other areas."

"Lu-chan," Levy sulked, "Please don't let that be a comment about my body type. You know that I can't pull off…" Levy gestured at Lucy's chest, "…that convincingly."

"The fact that you even said that just proves my point," Lucy teased.

"Lu-chan, tell me," Levy whined.

Lucy quickly jumped out of her seat and bolted before Levy could utilize her ultimate weapon again. With a pout Levy turned back to her food and proceeded to finish it up pondering what exactly Lucy had meant. She wasn't stupid… but wasn't the only explanation for Gajeel's actions so ridiculously… ridiculous? Levy bit her lip as she made puppy eyes at no one in particular. She absolutely hated not knowing.

The whole entire guild made to swallow harshly as they felt _the look_ simmering in the corner of the room and Lucy had to physically hold Natsu back just so that he wouldn't just yell the answer out for the desperate and _sad_ looking blue haired girl. Levy's puppy eyes really were a force to be reckoned with. Mirajane merely laughed gleefully as she skittered to and fro behind the bar and talked with Fried.

The answer to Levy's question was only Gajeel's to tell and anyways the whole entire guild was bursting with excitement to see how the Iron Dragon Slayer would finally do it and when. Cana already had multiple bets going as she guzzled down her keg of beer with delight.

When Levy walked into the library the next morning, her eyebrow immediately shot up at the object that was sitting there now that definitely had not been there before. Right in the middle of the already crowded library was a simple huge, yet low table with one tiny chair. Tilting her head slightly and doing the calculations quickly she knew that the table was the exact size that she needed to hold all of her books without having to run back and forth to her designated corner. Even more suspicious was how the chair seemed to be made especially for her…and how it was crafted out of all things… iron.

Only one person anywhere, much less a person with access to the guild, would make a chair out of iron. Levy giggled despite herself as she marched to the table and tapped it. It was confirmed; the poor thing had been stolen from the second floor of the tavern.

More delighted than she wanted to let on, Levy quickly dashed to her pile of books and balanced them on her arm as she scurried back and forth between the corner and the table. Now she could even leave her mess behind during the night because stupid people could trip over a pile of books but only certain idiots could walk right into a solid table.

For the first time in years Levy didn't feel like she needed a back massage every single time she exited the library. Sadly Gajeel wasn't sitting where he was supposed to be for her to thank him. Guiltily a part of her was glad that he wasn't sitting in his usual spot, the side of her that was screaming at her to not think more about his sweet action than she needed to.

The next day she brought with her some home made cushions that made the iron chair a little bit less hard and cold and then Levy pronounced the fact that the library was now her own personal heaven to no one in particular. It had been paradise before, but just wow.

That night when she exited the library, she once again found herself disappointed, her stomach said glad, that Gajeel wasn't sitting at the table in the back and that indeed he was no where to be found in the guild. Happy merrily floated by and chirped with his rolled letters, "He's embarrrrased. He liiiiiikes you." Too quickly was Happy knocked clean out of the air by a cup that seconds before had been in Mirajane's grasp.

Mirajane whistled innocently as she grabbed another tankard to serve Macao, whose eye was twitching slightly with utter fear. Happy was now crying in Lucy's arms as Natsu laughed at the poor blue Exceed. Lucy glared at Natsu for his callousness and then kissed Happy on the forehead, which only served to have Happy begin trilling again. The action shut Natsu up quickly as he pouted and mumbled about some things never being a proper solution to comforting someone who was just a friend. He shut up when Lucy kissed him on the forehead to comfort the jealous little boy in him as well.

Levy, meanwhile, found that Happy's words made her heart skip a beat while they made her stomach lurch in the urge to vomit, two emotions that definitely were not meant to pair with each other. Levy wondered if you could die from something so ridiculous as this. What would she do if Happy was finally right for once? The Exceed had to get it right in one of his accusation eventually right? Her stomach pulled again and Levy realized that all she had been was hungry. With an embarrassed giggle to herself she sat between Jet and Droy who were eying her oddly to see if she would suddenly spontaneously combust. She didn't.

On the third day since her wonderful present and yet her lack of thanks she asked Mirajane if Gajeel had been sent off on a mission. Cana and Evergreen who were within hearing distance simply cackled as Mirajane smiled like the sun. Levy's eye twitched, as she feared that Mirajane would finally consume her soul. "No Levy-chan." And that was it. Jet and Droy dragged her away from the giggling Mirajane before they lost their leader to the forces of pure evil. Levy couldn't help but notice that Erza was giving Mirajane the stink eye from the table that Erza inhabited with her team.

On the forth day Levy had stayed a little bit later in the library than she had intended and had made a mad dash to the tavern for food. Just as the doors on her end burst open the doors to the outside world of the guild closed and a chorus of giggles and laughs surrounded her. Quickly she threw out her ultimate weapon in a desperate attempt to make them _talk_ and all that had served to do was stun the guild into silence as Lucy tackled Natsu just so that once again he wouldn't spill the beans. Levy, however, already had an inkling of understanding to what exactly the big secret was.

The fifth day Levy had quickly written in solid script "speed" to which her feet quickly absorbed before she sped into the tavern and burst through the doors in large huffs. She saw him open the guild doors and he was out of sight before she could tackle him down in a mad fit of insanity. Wendy screamed in shock when Levy face planted herself right in front of the Sky Dragon Slayer in her attempt to leap at the Iron Dragon Slayer. Levy ignored the laughter once again drifting around her as Jet and Droy dusted her off after picking her off the ground in her failed tackling expenditure. "Maybe next time," Mirajane offered happily as she danced by.

"Stop egging her!" Jet shouted. Levy puffed her cheeks out in a puff as Lucy pulled the girl out of the clutches of her team and took her outside for a good serving of ice cream.

"Juvia thinks that Levy is a little bit stalkerish."

"Seriously? You're the one saying that?" Bickslow commented as he guzzled a tankard of beer, "This is getting serious."

On the sixth day Levy gave up on trying to catch, much less thank, the Iron Dragon slayer as she slaved away with her books until midnight. When she woke up from what she had termed as her 'short nap', Natsu, with Lucy skipping at his side, was carrying her home. They were staring at each other with knowing looks and Levy contemplated Natsu's head being the really hard rock that she had needed to smash herself against.

On the seventh day, Levy screamed in glee as she popped out of her chair with her parchment in hand, the iron chair dropping to the floor with a loud crash. She had done it! She had finally managed to decode the spell that Makarov had given her a week ago to decipher. Master Makarov had even said that Fried hadn't been able to crack the spell and yet Levy had done it! Seven was indeed the number of magic. She knew that she could have done it sooner if she hadn't been preoccupied with other disturbing matters but as she leapt around the library nearly doing cartwheels, she just couldn't find herself to care anymore.

"Wow," Levy murmured as her eyes shone in wonder as she stared at the parchment in her hands and re-read the text that she had scrawled onto the parchment haphazardly, "Just wow." She had done what Fried couldn't do, she had done what no other man could do and now she was leaping like a leprechaun on the spot as she giggled some more at her success. Levy felt like a little girl who had just finished her favorite book as she clutched the pieces of parchment to her chest and still continued to squeal insanely.

Quickly Levy smashed the parchment on the table as she picked up her pen and dotted the last line with a loud tap. Just as the ink touched the parchment, the paper began to glow as the words on the page burst into solid script and floated around her in an array of letters and light. Levy screamed in surprise as she jumped back from the table, the words effortlessly following her and caging her in. "That usually doesn't happen without my permission," Levy squealed as the words began to glow to the point where she would be blinded if she didn't close her eyes.

Apparently this had been the phrase that alerted others to her imminent danger, as the last thing that Levy heard before she was engulfed by her own magic was "Oi! What the hell is this shit?" before she felt arms wrap around her and the world drop out from below her feet.

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><p><strong>Next Time on The Fairy's Tale<strong>

She dusted her butt off and looked back up to her teammates before doing a double take. "What are you guys wearing?" Levy asked deadpanned as she stared at their attire and the things that were obtrusively attached onto their faces. Levy stretched her neck a little bit and her eyebrows furrowed at what she saw. "Is that actually a tail?"

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><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

Fell in love with Fairy Tail... this pairing was also the first pairing... well maybe the second that I also was mesmerized by. Let's see how this goes!

I'm actually very surprised that I haven't come across a fic with this particular idea yet... am I just blind to the world?

Updates will come about once a week. Look forward to it!


	2. The First Fairy's Tale

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

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><p><strong>The First Fairy's Tale<strong>

Levy lurched as she felt like she was being thrown through the air. The arms that were around her waist seemed to dissolve in a wave of glitter as Levy reached out to the tiny sparks with the tips of her fingers. Before she could grasp at the glittering dust, Levy lurched again as though she had fallen and in the next moment she landed on the ground right on her rump.

Levy snapped her eyes open not realizing that they had even been closed in the first place and tipped over so that she was now sprawled on her back. She blinked owlishly at the ceiling before the dear faces of her team members appeared right before her. "Jet… Droy," Levy breathed as she took their hands and balanced herself as they heaved her off the ground.

She dusted her butt off and looked back up to her teammates before doing a double take. "What are you guys wearing?" Levy asked deadpanned as she stared at their attire and the things that were obtrusively attached onto their faces. Levy stretched her neck a little bit and her eyebrows furrowed at what she saw. "Is that actually a tail?"

"Levy, Levy, Master Makarov is kicking us out of the guild today! I thought we had at least a week left, but he wants to kick us out today!" Jet cried as he waved his arms and ran in circles around her. Levy didn't really listen as her eyes fixed on his baby pink attire and what looked like a snout that was glued onto his face.

"Again… what are you two wearing?"

"What we always wear Levy!" Droy pronounced as the tail on his butt seemed to spring to and fro in a way that made Levy want to pull on it and see if it would regain its curled shape, "Now tell us what we should do about getting kicked out now Levy-chan! I don't want to work so hard so soon."

"Why is Master Makarov kicking us out?" Levy asked reflexively as she looked at Jet and saw the same pink and curly tail protruding from him as well. Her hands twitched at the urge to pull at the curled springs before she realized something dramatically important.

"He wants us to built guilds all our own…" Droy sulked as he sprawled himself on a chair and tipped his head back in desperation, "I don't want to be split up from Levy-chan! What is a guild without friends anyways?"

Levy once again was not paying attention to her teammates dramatics as she tried to look over her shoulder. She didn't see anything, but she knew it was there so slowly, as not to totally spook her teammates she stuck her butt out while bending slightly forward… and AHA. She had her own ridiculous tail. Levy blinked and let the notion settle in. "Oh…" Levy murmured as her hands shook and she started to slowly bring them up to her face.

Jet and Droy watched with raised eyebrows as Levy suddenly slapped her nose and then cried out in horror when she realized that she too had a snout glued on to her face where her nose was supposed to be. She looked down again as she realized that her usually bright orange attire was very suddenly also baby pink in color and that the color matched her just as well as it matched her teammates. Not at all. "Oh wow… oh what am I wearing?"

"Levy, I know that you just woke up, but that's what you usually wear too," Jet murmured as he patted her on the shoulder gently, "Would you like me to get you some food?"

"Food?" Levy murmured as she twitched while she looked up at familiar yet unfamiliar eyes of the man standing beside her, "What kind of food do we happen to eat again?"

Droy raised an eyebrow, "Gruel silly Levy, Mirajane just made a fresh batch this morning too! It was pretty good."

"I think she's done better," Jet commented.

"Has to be one of her top five batches at least."

"Nah, top ten maybe."

"We eat gruel," Levy murmured as she wavered slightly before falling to the floor with a loud thump. "I'm a pig and I eat gruel…"

"Levy, I know that Mirajane's cooking isn't always spectacular but her cooking is the least of our problems. Master Makarov is kicking us out now and making us build new guilds with out each other and what the Master says must go."

Levy's eyes widened as she looked up at her two teammates from the floor, "What…" she swallowed harshly, not too sure if she wanted to actually hear the answer, "What are you planning to build your guilds' out of then?"

"I want to be quick about it," Jet grinned as he used his thumb to point at himself in confidence, "I'm going to use straw."

Levy wanted to pound her head on the nearest wall. This was sooo not happening to her.

"Straw is stupid, I'm building mine out of sticks."

"Sticks?" Levy asked.

"Sticks."

"Not… lumber?"

"Nope… sticks."

Levy waved a hand at her two friends to get their attention, "Don't tell me, I'm building mine out of bricks…"

"Well Levy, we can't tell you since you were really the one to tell us. I think it's silly though Levy. Bricks are too heavy and it'll take you so long to build your guild too! It might take you a whole entire day… and without breaks!"

"I'm a bloody pig!" Levy screeched as she reared up on her legs and rubbed at her temples as she began to pace around in a circle, "I'm actually a pig. Jet and Droy are actually pigs. I'm one of the Three Little Pigs. I go oink! I have lazy and stupid friends!"

"That's kind of mean Levy-chan," Droy pouted as he leaned back in his seat.

"Sorry," Levy murmured quickly before continuing to babble. And that was when it hit her, "The stupid spell!" She attempted to reach into her pockets, she attempted to reach at any flat surface, but just as she had already guessed, nothing from the library had followed her into this odd little realm that she now found herself trapped in. She couldn't write herself out of the stupid spell. She didn't even know if she could even utilize magic in this crazy world where everything revolved around building houses… or guilds in this case. "Remember Levy, remember exactly what you had just accomplished," she murmured as she rubbed her temples just a little bit harder, "Remember and don't totally lose your mind. What did the spell say?"

And then it came back to her. The magical number… seven. Seven fairy tales. Seven fairy tales that she had to live through. Seven fairy tales that she had to live through before she could return to the real world. Seven fairy tales that she had to live through before she could return to the real world that needed to be completed before an enemy ripped her body apart.

More now than ever, Levy was happy that the library wasn't often considered a battleground. However, if she had succumbed to this madness in the tavern, it would have been a totally different story. Levy had never been gladder that she was a bookworm.

However, Levy concluded that whoever had come up with this spell had put way too much effort into something that could have been five hundred times simpler. She was sure that if someone had casted this on her during a battle it would've taken them a total of five seconds of just one fairy tale to tear her physical body limb from limb. She had to question the usage of such an energy wasting magic.

"This… is the worst dream ever," Levy sighed as she dropped her hands to her sides.

"I know right? I didn't think that Nakama would abandon Nakama like that," Jet mumbled with a semblance of a pout on his face, "Either way at least they provided the materials for us to use."

"Did they?" Levy asked with an exhausted tone. She had to play along with this thing right?

"Look outside the window," Droy replied as he pointed out the small square screen. Levy stumbled to the glass and looked outside to see that she was currently on the second floor of what seemed like the biggest building for miles. A plethora of smaller buildings surrounded what she believed was probably the main guild that she was in and she suspected that those little buildings were the other separate 'guilds' that her other Nakama had also had to build at their crazy Master's orders.

Indeed she could see little pig Erza with her shiny, armored fort at one end, little pig Gray's ice castle beside hers and little pig Natsu's flaming house on the other side of Erza's fort. She didn't even want to begin to think what little pig Lucy would have used to build her own guild, but then again considering that Lucy was one of the newer additions to their messed up little family, maybe Master Makarov hadn't kicked her out yet. Levy found herself looking for a house made of iron, but she knew that that was impossible considering he was even more freshly minted than Lucy.

And then Levy knew that she was doomed the instant that she began to think in the terms of the world that she was in. One of the downsides of being a quick learner was that she was drawn into things much too easily for her own good. The stupid spell had obviously used that weakness for its own cruel and amusing gain.

She scanned the outside world again and on the out skirts of their little town, right beside the dark and scary forest, where she just knew the wolf just had to be hiding, were three piles of building material. There was a pile of straw, a pile of sticks and, with a loud sigh, Levy noted the giant pile of bricks. "This is stupid," Levy murmured as she turned around to face her two teammates.

They ran before she could blast out her puppy eyes. Darn… even in this world they knew all about her little tricks. She wondered if she could attempt to use her solid script magic in this world to build her house. At least it would confirm if she could use magic at all or not. She doubted it though, but then again she had just seen the three other little pigs build houses out of armor, fire and ice. This would have been one whack job fairy tale on the writer's part. Maybe she would revise her own edition when she got home.

"So I have to live this out," Levy murmured as she ruefully stared at the pile of bricks through the little windowpane. She kicked the wall and pouted before she turned on her heel and walked out of the room. "Better get started then."

And then like any good fairy tale, the boring parts began and ended in what seemed like mere seconds and with aching muscles Levy collapsed in front of her small but comfortable brick house. She had found out quickly that no, there was no magic in this world and that Natsu, Gray and Erza were just as intense here as they were back home to build houses out of seemingly impossible materials. She stared up at the red brick house like she had just done the most amazing deed ever and indeed she had. Never had Levy thought that she would have to build a brick house without her magic aiding her. Actually… never had Levy thought that she would need to build a brick house ever. Taking a deep breath Levy grinned at her accomplishments.

Levy bent her knees up and rested her arms on her knee before resting her chin on her arms. Accomplishments like building fairy tale houses deserved rewards like a good nap in the sunshine.

Life, of course, did not work like that and apparently so did this particular fairy tale.

Levy's eyes snapped opened as a bell tolled in their little village before a voice that she identified as being Makarov's echoed in the clear blue sky. "The wolf is coming!" There was a slight crackle, "Everyone return to their homes within the next ten minutes, I repeat the wolf is coming."

Levy blinked as she watched the little pig versions of all her Nakama scramble around the village to reach their individual homes (Did Cana just run into a house made of kegs?) and the newer members dash for the large guild in the center (Oh… there was Lu-chan.). She still hadn't seen the pig version of Gajeel and she was so sure that she would get a good laugh out of the Iron Dragon Slayer wearing hues like baby pink. "Too bad," Levy murmured as she stood up and brushed herself off before she marched into her home and bolted her door. She peaked out her window at Jet and Droy as they waved at her before walking into their flimsy houses. Her silly teammates were even silly in stupid spells like this. She sighed and smiled warmly. It was kind of nice that she wasn't totally alone trapped in this stupid spell even if her companions were only ghosts of their true selves.

Ten minutes passed easily and then she heard it, the rustle in the woods. Her eyes snapped open as a black shadow passed through light of the sun and landed right in front of little pig Jet's house. Her stomach lurched as she tried to keep herself from dry heaving.

Of course Gajeel Redfox was the wolf.

What in all names had made her even consider that the man would be characterized as a little pig?

He was attacking them again.

Why hadn't she thought of it?

She heard him laugh as he taunted almost merrily at the small straw hut. Levy flung herself away from the window and plugged her ears as his dark voice echoed through her whole entire being, "little pig, little pig, let me come in!" The dark laugh that followed was like a reflection of her own past as she heard the mumblings of Jet's voice. If Levy had, in any way, felt rational… she would have burst out laughing at the fact that Gajeel was even saying these corny lines in the first place, but Levy wasn't feeling rational. Total and utter fear did that to people.

Stuffing her fingers even harder into her ears and tripping over the small pile of left over bricks Levy whimpered as she heard his next words, "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!" She knew it in her heart that these words were not supposed to be scary under any context out of that of a five year old's, but those words were replaced in her mind with what he had truly said in that dark age that had happened between them months ago.

Levy heard the flimsy straw house crumble to the ground, Jet shouting in terror and Gajeel's cackle as tears sprung mercilessly at her eyes. Although she knew that this Gajeel wasn't the one from back home she couldn't help but make the ties between him and the man that had nailed her brutally to a tree. Her wrists began to ache as her stomach turned.

The fact that Jet didn't knock at her door for safety made her believe that maybe Gajeel's role was much more serious than she had thought, that these fairy tales weren't all just a big hoax and the man was actually eating her friend with his sharp teeth.

She heard him say words that she didn't register before she rolled sideways to get her knees off of the hard brick and to somewhere deeper in her little comfortable house. His dark taunt came again and she could just imagine him standing in front of the house of sticks, "little pig, little pig, let me come in!" A sob ripped at her throat as she dropped to the ground and tried to curl up into a little ball. Her mind screamed at her that this wasn't the Gajeel that she knew but her body simply wanted to disappear. "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"

She heard more crashes, more tumbling as the house made of sticks was blown away and her second friend was lost to the big bad wolf. The feeling inside her stomach began to flow outside as she felt the Phantom Lord mark scratch bloodily onto her skin. It was all mental, she tried to remind herself, but she could still feel the burning of the branding.

That meant that she was next. Like it had been back then… Gajeel had saved her for last.

But she was the pig in the brick house. She was the one that would be able to survive. That was how it went in the fairy tale so why was it that when she heard his heavy footsteps at the door she wanted to scream and cry for all to hear. "Little pig, little pig, let me come in!"

Her screams nearly ripped her throat apart, "No, no, not on the hairs of my chinny chin chin!" She didn't even stop to wonder if she even had hair on her chin to swear by. That should have been her first clue to how this fairy tale was going to end.

"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow this house in."

And to her absolute horror she felt her house shake and then she heard a wall crumble and she prayed that the house would crush her before Gajeel could rip into her with his iron tearing fangs. Levy screamed when a dark shadow threw itself on top of her and she just knew that things didn't ever work out the way that she wanted them to. Maybe when she died inside the spell she would die in reality as well.

She shook and she screamed, waiting for the pain, the pain in her stomach, the pain in her wrists, just any kind of pain that would tear into her.

But the pain didn't come.

Slowly Levy popped open one eye to see that the shadow was still hovering over her. The brick house around her had crumbled like it actually had been made out of straw, but she hadn't even been touched by the heavy material. The shadow had protected her.

"I should have known that you would get the role of the smart one," a voice grumbled above her, "you didn't need to sound so terrified though bookworm." Levy turned her head a little bit more to see that the shadow hovering over her was the wolf. Her eyes watered as she covered her head again and curled up into a ball while sobbing and ignoring the fluttering in her heart while trying not to wretch from the pull in her stomach. "Oi bookworm, loosen up. I'm not going to hurt you, your 'friends' are fine."

Levy opened her eyes again and stretched her back so that she could see and out in the distance she could see the signature footwear of her teammates although they were still a disastrous pink hue. "G-Gajeel?"

"You know, I had half hoped that you would be in the straw house so that when it fell you wouldn't be under the danger of being crushed, but things just don't ever work out my way." And with that, the shadow hovering over her disappeared as Gajeel sat back on the balls of his feet and rubbed his sore shoulders. "Bricks fucking hurt."

Levy scrambled onto her butt as she stared at the man in front of her, "Gajeel?"

"That's my name bookworm," the man grinned as he turned to her.

"No, like the real Gajeel? Not like the big bad wolf Gajeel?"

The man laughed his signature laugh (Gihihi) before rubbing his shoulders again, "Stupid spells like this would never get my character this perfect," the Iron Dragon Slayer grinned.

Levy didn't know if she wanted to sing to the heaven's or curse her fate but the fact that her heart was drumming against her chest louder than the force of the hook pulling at her stomach made her to believe that she was glad that she wasn't caught in this spell all on her own with only shadows of her Fairy Tail friends for company. "Gajeel…"

"Again with the name?"

"You don't know how happy I am to see you," Levy murmured as she launched herself at him and gave him the best hug that she could. Gajeel freaked out slightly as he stared at his hands wondering _what the hell to do_! And then Levy began to pout. She leaned back to stare at his red eyes, "If I had known that you were the real Gajeel that would have been a little bit less terrifying."

"If you had known then I would not of had the pleasure of your confession to the fact that you have hairs growing on your chin."

"I wish you hadn't been able to blow my house down though. I worked really hard on that."

"Then I'd just climb in through the chimney though seriously… did you think a brick house would stop me?"

"Then I'd just cook you with boiling water," Levy laughed as she finally fully relaxed, "Though that would have been horrifying if that hadn't been you. Wolf stew and all…" She hugged him tighter with a miffed laugh. She was so, so unbelievably glad that this was the reformed and comparatively kind of even lovable Gajeel, not the Phantom Lord demon that haunted her nightmares.

Gajeel seemed to be frozen before he patted her on the head awkwardly believing that that would be the best action for his hands to take, "Good thing I was in the library when that stupid thing went off then."

Levy nodded as her cheek rubbed against his dark gray and furry clothing. In a way she was glad that Gajeel hadn't been sporting pink now that she had the real Gajeel with her as the big bad wolf rather than some little pig Gajeel that may or may not have been more like the Phantom Lord version of her nightmares. Who ever really did know with spells like this? Then Levy blinked, "You were in the library?"

Gajeel seemed to lose what little color was in his face as his hands froze uselessly again, "Uh…"

"Why were you in the library?"

"I… Uh…"

"Were you reading something?"

"Kinda?"

"So then…" Gajeel really needed the perfect distraction, and it came at the perfect moment. His tail had stiffened at his panic and Levy had noticed the furry appendage wag. Her eyes lit up like stars as she dived out of his arm and clutched onto his tail. "It's so furry!" She ran her little hands through the dark fur. The tail began to thump happily as Gajeel became speechless. "Oh wow! Your tail wags, Gajeel! Your tail is so much cuter than mine!" And then Levy realized just whose tail she was playing with and the hook in her stomach pulled. She gasped slightly as she dropped the tail and it stopped wagging abruptly. "S-sorry," Levy squeaked as she stared at the ground.

"Uh…"

The hook grappled at her insides again as Levy backed away from Gajeel slowly and smiled weakly at him, "This is awkward… isn't it?'

Gajeel didn't know how to answer, but the solution for his escape came soon after, "Ah! Bookworm hold on tight!" And very suddenly Levy felt the ground drop out from beneath her knees again as Gajeel wrapped his arm around her waist. Other than the fact that the grip was harder than the last time and yet his body was somehow farther away, Levy knew that Gajeel had been the one, without any knowledge of the spell that had encased her, who had dived into the mass of glowing words in the library back home and had shouted at her in worry.

She wanted to question 'why?' out loud as the world of the Three Little Pig's turned into glitter while he didn't fade as he was clutching her to him tightly, but she believed that maybe she already knew the answer to that particular question. "Sorry about this," Gajeel grumbled as he squeezed his fingers securely into her middle, "Just deal with this for a little bit. It'll be over soon." Lucy was wrong; Levy wasn't just book smart. She was just in denial. The hook scratching the Phantom Lord emblem on her stomach made sure that she would stay that way as Levy and Gajeel refused to look at each other while Gajeel still held on tightly.

As to why he was specifically in the library at that specific time… Levy thought back to the desk and iron chair that had appeared the day after she had asked for it, maybe she knew the answer to that question too. "Thank you…"

"Huh?"

Levy smiled, but still didn't look at him, as the stars around her glowed and pulsed, "Just thank you." She wanted to say this for the chair, for the table, for jumping into the unknown for her… but she knew that he understood, hoped that he understood. She was sure that he understood her more than anyone else.

Everything disappeared into a burst of stars and for a moment it was just her and Gajeel and the hook in her stomach wasn't pulling her apart as harshly as it usually would with him touching her. Instead, her heart thumped heavily in her chest. The Iron Dragon Slayer tightened his hold on her as they fell into oblivion together.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra: Gajeel Reading the Three Little Pigs<strong>

Gajeel grunted as he flipped the page and groaned quietly. He could not believe that this was happening. How stupid could all these pigs be? A house made out of straw was stupid, even though it could be built fast. The thing would fall over from the wind much less someone actually trying to knock it down.

He flipped the page again and took the moment of reverie to peak down from his perch at the girl who was too enthralled in her work to even pay a smidgen of attention to the fact that there may have been other people in the quaint little library with her. She hadn't noticed for days now and it was throwing Gajeel off. But it was a good thing he was here, Gajeel tried to convince himself of his stalker like actions. With the way the shorty operated while in this kind of setting, someone could easily stab her before she looked up from her notes. Gajeel was a good person; he was a knight in shining armor protecting the girl sitting obliviously in a library all alone.

He turned his eyes back to the story before thoughts of being alone with the girl invaded his head again. Lily had opted for the tavern today and wouldn't be there to hold Gajeel back from doing something stupid… like reveal his presence or something.

The next pig wanted to build his house out of sticks. Less stupid than straw… still not any kind of legitimate protection.

The smart one had chosen bricks even though it would take long and need tons of effort. Gajeel narrowed his eyes as he wondered how much effort building a house out of bricks would take and then resigned himself to the fact that a house made out of iron would be the best. These pigs weren't the best, like he was.

And then the wolf appeared and Gajeel realized that this character was the dumbest out of all of them. Who the hell would say something like 'I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in' unless they were trying _not_ to scare someone? The pigs' reply was even more stupid as Gajeel realized only the most panicked of people would ever swear by the hairs on their chins.

What a stupid book.

He couldn't believe the wolf had taken all the effort to suck that much fucking air into his lungs in order to _blow_ a bloody house down. Sure, the tactic was fine with the straw house, Gajeel was sure he could just breathe casually on the thing and it would collapse, but the stick and brick houses were another matter.

If Gajeel ever found himself in the need of breaking down houses… he knew that he would use his good old fist.

And then Gajeel heard Levy squeak as she popped out of her chair, the poor thing hitting the ground, and began hugging a piece of paper while jumping around like an adorable, blue rabbit. Gajeel was jealous of a stupid bloody piece of paper…

* * *

><p><strong>Next Time on The Fairy's Tale<strong>

"Something smells good," Gajeel mumbled as he opened his eyes and blinked at the sunlight that was shining through the canopy and directly into his pupils. "Something smells really good."

Levy sniffed the air slightly and found that she had to agree. "What is it?"

Gajeel sat up and continued to sniff before leaning closer to her, "I think it might be you bookworm."

* * *

><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

I hope this was a good enough follow up to the first chapter. I got more response to that than what I totally expected but wow, I love all of you guys. Thank you very much for your support!


	3. The Second Fairy's Tale

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

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><p><strong>The Second Fairy's Tale<strong>

Levy landed with a heavy thump on a patch of green grass and the mass that was Gajeel, no longer holding her, landed right beside her as they were thrown from the world of stars and into a looming dark forest just off the hard and gravelly path. "Ouch," Levy mumbled as she rubbed the back of her head before sitting up and looking around to survey her surroundings.

"Something smells good," Gajeel mumbled as he opened his eyes and blinked at the sunlight that was shining through the canopy and directly into his pupils. "Something smells really good."

Levy sniffed the air slightly and found that she had to agree. "What is it?"

Gajeel sat up and continued to sniff before leaning closer to her, "I think it might be you bookworm."

Levy turned a shade of red that made Gajeel want to grin like a foolish child as he leaned closer and continued to sniff at her. "Hey, hey back off!" Levy squeaked as she shoved at his face with both of her hands as one of his much longer arms shot out to take something from behind her back. It was a little tweed basket. Gajeel backed off, his face no longer squished between her fingers and Levy felt the pain of the hook in her stomach dissipate with his growing distance. Oddly enough the hammer smashing into her heart was also inflicting much less pain as well.

"You have a basket full of food," Gajeel stated with a raised eyebrow, "Freshly made food."

Levy leaned forward slightly to take a whiff of the food in the basket before nodding her head, "That's what smells so nice." Gajeel found her blue hair to be right beneath his chin as she continued to lean closer to the basket of goodies in order to identify its contents. She was sure that there was apple pie somewhere in the shadows and she absolutely loved apple pie.

Gajeel shook his head as his pupils dilated and his tail thumped against the earthen ground. He thought about it… something he knew should not have been thought about in the first place. But what the heck… now or never right? Gajeel used her one moment of vulnerability to lean down to her hair and take a good whiff of the soft, shiny blue locks, "Nope, definitely you bookworm." And then Gajeel realized just how stupid of a statement he had just made as he tugged and pulled at his face to make it contort into any kind of emotion that would cover up just how much of a sap he had become. Gajeel was not one to ever be inconspicuous although it might have been his intention. Why the hell had he blurted that out? He would have gotten away with smelling her scuff free if he hadn't.

Gajeel had never been so glad that Lily wasn't around to make fun of him as the Exceed had the tendency to do when it came to the bookworm. Then again this was also probably the reason that Pantherlily always joined him in the library… so he wouldn't do something this dumb.

The hook made its appearance again while Levy's heart thundered in her chest. The hook won out and Levy found herself desperately floundering away from Gajeel, failing incredibly in the way that she smacked the crown of her head into his nose and elbowed his stomach in her odd desperation to get some distance between them. "What?" she wheezed finally when she was a good arms length away from him.

She tried to ignore the way that he almost looked hurt before the expression melted off his face into something that kind of looked like acceptance before his trademark grin returned. "You smell good enough to eat," he punctuated this statement with one of his trademark laughs, "Where are you planning to take the food, little girl?"

Levy blinked at him owlishly as he shrugged and grinned at her like he was enjoying a good inside joke… with just himself; this in no doubt made Gajeel lamer than Levy had ever thought the Iron Dragon Slayer could ever be. She was so… so sorely mistaken. "I don't have a clue?"

"Ah, something will make you catch on," Gajeel mumbled with a hint of humor in his voice as he twirled the basket in his hands. Levy saw it first, a white tag that was strung between the wicker.

"Give that to me."

"Hungry bookworm?"

"Not hungry enough to tell my companion that they smell good enough to eat," Levy remarked instinctively before she froze.

Unlike what she thought he would do, all Gajeel did was laugh before he handed her the basket and nodded, resting his elbow on one of his two crossed legs and then his cheek on the base of his palm. "So what do you see bookworm?"

Levy quickly pulled the tag out from between the wicker and blanched, "I'm taking this… to my grandmother's house."

"To your grandmother's house? And that means…?" Gajeel continued to prod, oddly proud that he had caught on before she had, then again he had a blaring beacon in front of him that spoke of the origins of their second fairy tale.

"Oh wow… I'm little red riding hood. We're in Little Red Riding Hood!"

Gajeel seemed to cackle before he grinned at her, "That would explain your attire."

Levy finally looked down at herself and indeed she was wearing a neat white dress that was draped over by a flowing red cape with red hood. She quickly looked up at Gajeel who grinned at her, "You're wearing exactly what you were wearing in the Three Little Pigs." Levy couldn't help but scooch over a tiny bit so that she could see his tail again. The furry thing was wagging.

"I know bookworm."

"You still don't have a snout."

"Is that what really matters?"

"I had a snout…"

Gajeel snorted in humor, "You don't know how glad I am that that thing is gone now." Gajeel might have lost most of his sanity in the recent days since he had joined Fairy Tail… but he was still a gentleman enough to know that a girl dressed like a pig was never cute unless you wanted to be cursed to the depths of hell. Well at least she wasn't cute as a pig out loud.

Levy frowned as it quickly clicked her mind, "You're the wolf again." She was discontented by the fact that he had figured it out faster than she had. Hadn't he been the one to tell her that she was the 'smart one'? What was wrong with her? Maybe her brain was short-circuiting because he was so close to her? Was that a symptom of the hook in her stomach or the hammer in her heart?

"Probably."

"We meet and you want to eat me."

"That would explain why you smell so good." Lies. Gajeel knew that but it was nice being able to say some of the things he wanted to say without it being absolutely and totally awkward and without having the whole entire guild being on his case about it. Also… never ask Gajeel why he wanted to say these things. It had never been a part of his constitution and the first time he had even _thought_ up these sappy lines he had asked Pantherlily to give him a good whack on the head much to the Exceed's utter amusement. Lily had never known Gajeel as mean and gruff, after all Gajeel was the man that was just unexplainably happy to have a _cat_.

The stupid guild, and even Lily, was always on his case about Levy. He sorely wished that that evil, evil (like seriously evil) barmaid hadn't been the one to catch him that one time. He could deal with just Pantherlily any day; Gajeel had a blaring soft spot for his cat. The bunny girl would have been better than the bar maid, hell even the Salamander would have been better simply because the bunny girl would have kept him in line like she always did. But no, he had had the scary S-class demon catch him and no one was going to go up against her, not even the other scary S-class mage that had a passion for rules because of all things Titania just had to be a (hopeless) romantic. At least they had had enough tact to shut up when Levy was around. Gajeel hadn't even needed to threaten them… but according to Lily that would have egged all of them on further anyways.

When you became Nakama… suddenly you weren't that much of a force to be reckoned with anymore. When you found yourself attracted to a pipsqueak… even less so.

"So what do we do now?" Levy asked.

"Don't ask me."

"Should I just go deliver this to my grandmother? Are you going to go run ahead of me and dress up in my grandmothers clothes?" Levy murmured before her eyes widened as it clicked in her head, "Oh don't actually eat my grandmother!" She tugged on his sleeve with a horrified look on her face.

"She's not actually your grandmother," Gajeel cackled at her ridiculously cute realization. Smitten… he was absolutely and totally gob smacked smitten with the little bookworm.

"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't not eat her!" Levy squeaked as she clamored to her feet and quickly whacked him in the head with her basket. Again she froze as she stared down at her hands as though she had just set off the switch to blow up her guild. "I'm so sorry!"

"That didn't even hurt shorty," Gajeel scoffed as he looked away from her with a grin tugging from his lips. She was standing and she was still only so much taller than him; it was funny. Little bookworm also had spunk. Gajeel very much liked.

When Levy burst into a fit of giggles despite how Gajeel believed she would react to his comment he had to turn back to see that Levy was once again on the forest floor and kneeling in front of him. It took him a full second to realize that she was poking at his forehead right where the basket had made contact. "Sorry," she giggled again as she continued to poke.

"What's so funny?" Gajeel growled as he batted her hands away and ran his fingertips over the area that she had mercilessly attacked. There was a small bump that he just knew was flaming red in color. His red eyes crossed as he tried to look up and see the injury that he sported; obviously it was to no avail. Instead what he got for his effort was a girl rolling around in the grass clutching her stomach. "Seriously, this isn't that funny!"

"It's not," Levy wheezed brightly as she wiped at the tears at her eyes, "But it's you! You got a bump from a basket! I've seen you take lightning and get the same results!"

Gajeel blinked as Levy continued to giggle before she shot up and was suddenly sitting cross-legged as though she hadn't just been rolling around on the grass moment's prior. Gajeel rued the fact that her pretty white dress was now stained, but he had known long ago that Levy didn't particularly care about keeping her clothes clean. "Yeh?" was his intelligent answer.

"Yah," Levy murmured before she tapped her chin and then smiled at him, "I never did thank you for that did I?"

"Don't recall," Gajeel snorted, "Don't ca—"

"Thank you."

And if Gajeel had been any kind of romantic other than a totally awkward one he would have described the event of seeing her smile being like having a flower bloom in his chest. Instead the Iron Dragon Slayer was simply convinced that he was having a heart attack and he left the fact that he was still alive at that.

Pantherlily was usually the one who explained what all the romantic symptoms were to Gajeel. Pantherlily had actually been the one, about a minute after meeting Levy and seeing Gajeel stumble around her like a lost kid, that had explained to Gajeel that what he was feeling was not the irrational urge to throw the girl into the wall and break her neck… but to very rationally push her up against one in a totally different way. Pantherlily had even had the gall to explain that Gajeel had probably felt like that for a long while too. Stupid cat just had to have enlightened him and make Gajeel realize just how much of a lovesick idiot he was. Now that Gajeel realized this… he was going to give his cat a good butt kicking. "Yeh… whatever." Now… Gajeel just needed a way to outsmart his cat.

Levy simply snorted at his answer before she turned her gaze to the ground and began to pick at the blades of grass, "So… about Little Red Riding Hood…"

"I'm not going on ahead," Gajeel stated bluntly as though it was the most obvious thing in the whole entire world. Why was he thinking about Pantherlily again? Gajeel stared at Levy.

Obviously it wasn't as Levy decided to point out, "But that's what the wolf does in the fairy tale!"

"Do you remember the wolf blowing down the brick house?"

"No?"

"Did I blow down the brick house?"

"If I may recall…"

"I'm not going on ahead. Who knows what this spell might do… maybe I'm not the particular wolf that will eat you in the end. Maybe I'm just one of the many wolves that want to eat you," Gajeel grunted as he slowly unfurled himself from his position and braced himself to stand up. "But that doesn't mean that we still shouldn't get to your grandmother's, so come on stand up bookworm."

"Do you ever do things the way they are meant to be done Gajeel?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Gajeel stated with a smirk stretched across his face. "Go on now, skip down the path to grandmother's. I'll follow."

Levy stared at him with one eye, "Are you sure you aren't going to eat her?"

Gajeel grinned, "We'll see who she is first, there are certain people I wouldn't mind…"

"Stop!" Levy shouted as she gestured with her hands, "Don't need to know any exceptions. You are not eating my grandmother."

"You need to stop being so serious bookworm."

"Nothing is not serious about eating people!"

"It's a stupid spell."

"I don't care!"

"Fine then, I won't eat your make believe grandmother, are you happy?"

"Absolutely," Levy chirped as she grabbed the wicker basket and swung it to rest on her elbow. With a swirl of her white dress and red cape she skipped to the path as Gajeel stayed in the shadows of the woods.

With a heavy swallow Gajeel realized why in some versions of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood the wolf had wanted to eat the little girl in more ways than one. Then he smacked his head against a tree, hoping that instead of making a second bump he had squished the first one down back into his head, and then banished the dirty thought from his mind as he quietly followed her. He needed to take baby steps.

Every so often from her place on the path she would smile in his direction and he would snort. Levy had always been more than she had let on and the fact that she always knew where he was positioned in the dark forest was a sure fire indication of that very fact. Gajeel was having fun running around her in circles in the trees and observing how she never lost track of him. Why she didn't have a single clue about his exploits in the library… he didn't have an answer.

Gajeel's head shot up as he landed on a tree branch and it bounced steadily under his weight. He was now on the edge of the forest and just right off the path was a small house with smoke drifting out of the chimney. If he had to guess, he would say that that was grandmother's house.

Levy had also come to the same conclusion as she once again looked up at him. He didn't dare to look back as he leapt off the tree and landed on the balls of his feet. There was an open window on the far side of the house and as Levy made her way to the door Gajeel climbed his way in through the tiny frame.

The last thing that Levy had expected as she raised her hand to knock on the door was to hear Gajeel suddenly screaming in horror. Levy's jaw dropped. Gajeel continued screaming. It wasn't just a lapse in sanity. In a fit of shock Levy slammed her shoulder into the door and it burst open with heavy might as Levy stumbled into the little house gearing up for a fistfight. She was prepared to see some serious damage; it wasn't every day that Gajeel screamed after all, but the only sight that met her was an oddly dressed Mirajane cornering Gajeel with a pair of knitting needles in her hands.

Levy blinked as she literally saw Gajeel shiver as Mirajane shoved her needles precariously close to his chin before Levy smartly commented with a "Wha?" She lowered her fists to her side as she saw the fact that Gajeel would have pointed and laughed at her if he hadn't been in mortal peril.

Levy winning a fistfight that Gajeel couldn't win… the thought of that was ridiculous.

"Oh!" Mirajane quipped as she skipped away from Gajeel with her needles in hand. The Iron Dragon Slayer visibly relaxed as Mirajane came up to Levy and gave her a bear hug, "My granddaughter has come to visit old, weak, sick me!"

"Weak my ass," Gajeel sneered before cowering at the evil eye that the grandmother Mirajane was giving him.

"And it looks like she has brought along with her a very rude boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend?" Levy exclaimed, "You really think I would let my boyfriend crawl though a window?" Gajeel stared at her. "Not the point I see. You think he's my boyfriend?"

Grandmother Mirajane started waving her needles at Gajeel again as she advanced on the poor man who knew just exactly how evil the real world Mirajane was. "Now look here boy," Mirajane threatened as she pulled her granny's cap closer over her hair, "you better treat my granddaughter right, do you hear me?"

"Mira-chan! Er… I mean grandmother, he isn't my boyfriend!" Levy babbled as she stepped over to Mirajane to try and get the needles out from under Gajeel's nose. Any closer and Mirajane would be half way to giving Gajeel a lobotomy. "He's the big bad wolf, he's come to eat you! Er… and me?" Levy looked under Mirajane's arm to see Gajeel snort at her like she was the most ridiculous person on earth. She stuck her tongue back out at him in retaliation fully realizing that she wasn't making a good argument on the fact that she wasn't ridiculous. She puffed out her cheeks next and Gajeel snorted in a laugh that ended in a horrible sounding gurgle.

"You're dating a wolf?" Mirajane gawked as she looked between her granddaughter and the man that had tried to sneak into her humble abode. It was true… he was furry and he had a tail… a very bushy tail. "You're dating a wolf!" Mirajane suddenly squeaked as she clapped excitedly and yanked at the appendage of interest, "Oh you two would look so cute together!"

"Grandmother you aren't listening to me!" Levy shouted stamping her feet like a little girl and yanking her grandmother's hands away from Gajeel's tail. If Levy couldn't feel his tail up then she wouldn't watch other people feel his tail up.

Gajeel once again snorted in laughter before he slammed the back of his head against the wall again before Mirajane could stab him in the eyes with what he once believed were not an applicable weapon. He would never look at knitting needles the same ever again. "You shouldn't laugh at your girlfriend," grandmother Mirajane growled darkly.

"Not laughing, not laughing at all," Gajeel mumbled quickly wondering if this Mirajane could turn into an actual demon like the barmaid back home. They seemed to have similar enough personalities. Mirajane of Fairy Tail had cornered him after all when she had found out that he had been 'accompanying' (without her knowledge) Levy in the library for the past several weeks. In that span of five minutes he had learned the true definition of fear and how a tankard was one hell of a scary weapon in the hands of the right type of person. When grandmother Mirajane took her eyes off of him for a mere moment Gajeel couldn't help but mouth to Levy to '_bloody fucking save me right now bookworm_!'

Levy, with laughter threatening to tear her stomach to shreds, took her grandmother's hands and removed the knitting needles from her grasp with care. "Calm down grandmother," Levy murmured soothingly. Levy the hero of the story had finally come to the rescue the captive princess Gajeel, Levy thought as she grinned behind her lips.

"He hasn't kissed you yet, has he?" Mirajane pouted as her fingers twitched with the loss of her weapons.

"Oh jeez! No!" Levy squeaked.

"Nothing?" Mirajane continued to pout.

"I wouldn't say nothing," Gajeel muttered to himself.

Sadly Mirajane had heard and her head snapped to glare at the big bad wolf. "You touched my little girl?"

"He only smelled me," and then Levy took a moment to ponder just how bizarre that statement was.

"Hey, didn't you just say we were cute?" Gajeel roared.

"Elfman!" grandmother Mirajane screeched loudly.

And then Levy was sure that if she hadn't already knocked down the door that woodsman Elfman would have sliced it right clean in half with his overly large weapon. "This is so not happening," Levy murmured as she rubbed her eyes. Nope, Elfman was still wielding a ridiculously large axe and sporting some very fancy woodsman gear. She had never seen so much leg hair in all her life.

"Elfman! This wolf wants to defile my sweet granddaughter," grandmother Mirajane cried out as she took Levy into a choke hug and coddled her into near unconsciousness. Levy found that her feet no longer touched the ground and she kicked them out to try and gain some semblance of stability again.

"That is not the way of a man!" woodsman Elfman shouted as he pointed the axe at Gajeel. "I as a real man will take you down."

"Oh… wow! Gajeel run!" Levy screamed as Elfman came charging at Gajeel as though the axe weighed just about as much as paper.

"Don't need to tell me twice bookworm!" Gajeel sniffed as he dived out of the way as Elfman created a giant hole in the wall where Gajeel's head had previously been. "And _defile_? Does anyone still use the word defile anymore shorty?"

"You wolf!" Mirajane cried, "Don't you dare call my sweet granddaughter names!"

"Grandma, let me go," Levy cried as she kicked a little bit more before she started seeing stars, "He always calls me bookworm and shorty. Actually I don't ever recall him using my name ever!" Somewhere in the back of her head she wondered why in all names a grandmother Mirajane, never mind a grandmother, had such raw strength in her arms. Then Levy questioned why she wasn't trying to hurt grandmother Mirajane considering that the person holding her was not actually her friend from back home. Quickly Levy bit down on the arm restraining her and grandmother Mirajane let her go in a fit of shock.

"You've learned some horrible habits from that wolf! I will not let your sexual play with him dribble into your real life! Elfman!" Mirajane shrieked as she dived at her granddaughter to hold her back from what Mirajane believed was her granddaughter's star crossed love. Grandmother Mirajane was determined to keep them star crossed and Levy from becoming a sexual and grandmother-eating fiend. Her lovely Levy was already starting to bite people because of play with that nasty wolf.

It was probably the most tragic difference between grandmother Mirajane and Fairy Tail Mirajane. Fairy Tail Mirajane would have had a blast with this kind of innuendo.

"Sexual play?" Gajeel questioned with wide eyes as he froze at the image, "Holy shit…" The image wouldn't stop.

"There is nothing sexual about biting!" Levy cried as she leapt out of the way of grandmother Mirajane's reach. Gajeel grunted as he looked away from her before sliding under the axe as it came his way again. Let her think what she wanted to think. The way she did it in his mind was incredibly sexual.

"A man does not allow a woman to bite him!" Elfman continued to shout as he swung his axe at Gajeel's head yet again not allowing the Iron Dragon Slayer close enough to land a hit.

"Man this, man that, why the hell is the grandmother so close to the woodsman anyways?" Gajeel sneered, "I wouldn't have even been able to finish my whole big speech about why my teeth are so big much less having actually eaten Little Red Riding Hood before you would have come along!"

"Stop with the biting references!" Mirajane growled.

"You started it, damn it!"

"Gajeel you were the one who messed up the fairy tale first," Levy squeaked with annoyance showing in her puffed out cheeks as she jumped at the handle of the large axe in order to try to slow down woodsman Elfman's swings and prevent grandmother Mirajane from catching her. Gajeel almost burst out in laughter as he watched her grab onto the handle with both her hands and then waddle in the air with her feet kicking furiously in order to weigh the axe down. It didn't help that Levy was also the color of cherries as she continued to hang. It clashed mercilessly with her outfit. Gajeel wondered what kind of biting was going through her mind.

Elfman looked at lost as to what to do and was quickly looking between his weapon with Levy still hanging off of it and grandmother Mirajane who was now sobbing into one of her knitted scarves about how her granddaughter had fallen in love with a thug of a wolf.

Levy's effort was well worth it when Gajeel easily grabbed the blunt edge of the axe and quickly plucked Levy out of her dangerous predicament, laughing all the way. With Levy held securely under his arm, Gajeel quickly dispatched woodsman Elfman with a solid punch to the jaw before he quickly made for the door. Grandmother Mirajane screamed vengeance like a demon.

"I'm just going to present to you this idea, but I think that the woodsman and the grandmother were more than just strangers if you know what I mean."

Levy quickly landed five hits to the back of Gajeel's thigh in rapid succession as she gasped in horror, "Don't even think about that. They're siblings in Fairy Tail!"

Gajeel cackled his trademark cackle before he smirked and leapt out of the house, "I know, but the look on your face right then was fucking hilarious." And then he grunted and Levy's eyes widened as she saw two knitting needles imbed themselves in Gajeel's thigh. Turning her head slightly she could see grandmother Mirajane breathing heavily as she screamed for the wolf to return her adorable granddaughter to her and that eloping was never the solution.

But instead of hitting solid ground once the two finally got outside the little house, the world of Little Red Riding Hood burst into a shower of stars and Levy felt her whole entire world turn on its head as she desperately tried to keep her white dress from flapping up and giving Gajeel a very decent panty shot.

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><p><strong>Extra: Gajeel reading Little Red Riding Hood(s) <strong>

Gajeel could have sworn that he had read this particular book before. Except that he hadn't… but he totally had because who the hell else would wear a red hood and deliver food to her grandmother's house and on the way be stupid enough to talk to the big bad wolf? The first version he had read had been pretty short and pretty simple. There was a happy ending, made for the kids, and the woodsman had killed the evil wolf. Even Gajeel knew that no wolf could swallow anything whole while he had such sharp teeth and that that particular ending was coated in candy and sugar. Gajeel liked hard iron.

But as he read progressively darker and darker versions of the once simple and happy story, including one where the little Red Hood had put on a strip show for the poor… apparently horny wolf, Gajeel began to think that some children stories had way too much iron. Even Metalicana hadn't told him such morbid bed time stories… like what child deserved to hear about the wolf feeding the little red hood the remains of her grandmother baked in a pie. No child needed to hear about that kind of thing.

Gajeel peaked down at Levy and narrowed his eyes at her. The only reason he was reading all of these different versions of this stupid story anyway was because he had watched her study them over a week before. The bookworm had seemed like she had enjoyed the versions as they progressed. Gajeel had thought that Little Red Riding Hood had been an innocent girl's love story, something that he could imagine Levy easily reading. Though Gajeel didn't particularly enjoy reading those stories, at least the awkward, in love to point of overprotective, part of him was satisfied. This just put a sour taste in his mouth. Maybe the grandmother needed better weapons in her house. Who lived alone with only knitting needles anyways? No wonder she had been so easily eaten by the wolf.

Gajeel thought that maybe it would about time that he reassessed just how innocent Levy McGarden was. Obviously she was a little bit dark and a little bit twisted somewhere in that little body of hers. And then he thought about it…

Well he would never coerce Levy into eating a pie made out of their Nakama, but he wondered if he wouldn't mind a strip show.

Gajeel stopped his process of thinking when Lily smacked him in the nose with his little paw. The Exceed shook his head with a knowing look while crossing his arms before grinning at the Iron Dragon Slayer with all the amusement in the world.

Damn the fact that Gajeel loved his cat too much to just fling him out the window. Damn the fact that they had gotten close enough for Lily to know everything that went on in Gajeel's mind. The Iron Dragon Slayer would never be safe again when thinking about Levy in ways…

Pantherlily kicked him cleanly in the stomach.

Just fuck it.

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><p><strong>Next Time on The Fairy's Tale<strong>

Levy had to physically hold herself back from screaming, jumping back and tumbling off the stone steps that she was standing on when Gajeel looked down at her from the other side of the entranceway. Her stomach lurched harshly as her muscles screamed at her to run with all her might. She had only seen this form of him once before, but the memories had been nailed into her mind, quite literally.

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><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

Note to ironandpen: you caught me red handed you mind reader you...

I enjoy Gajeel's character. He's so macho and yet at the same time he cries over cat's and gets knocked out by purses... all in good fun too. This is why I believe that Gajeel just has this huge weakness for non-threatening things... like Levy... though I wouldn't totally call her non-threatening... maybe in the Gajeel book of definitions. Also... I totally think that Gajeel would be the awkward as hell in love type and this is funnnnnn...

I hope you guys are still enjoying!


	4. The Third Fairy's Tale

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

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><p><strong>The Third Fairy's Tale<strong>

When Levy landed on solid ground she found herself being placed daintily on her feet in front of a large castle and with her hand just having swung the knocker against the hard wood of the large doors instead of grappling at her clothes. Levy blinked as she realized that Gajeel was not beside her although she was sure that he had hung on tight for their whole entire journey into the next fairy tale. It was a debate in her mind if she was relieved that he had let her go or worried that he was no where to be seen.

However, when the large wooden doors opened to the sound of her knocking Levy knew that they had landed even closer to Gajeel than before and exactly just what fairy tale they had gotten themselves into.

Levy had to physically hold herself back from screaming, jumping back and tumbling off the stone steps that she was standing on when Gajeel looked down at her from the other side of the entranceway. Her stomach lurched harshly as her muscles screamed at her to run with all her might. She had only seen this form of him once before, but the memories had been nailed into her mind, quite literally.

"You don't have to look at me if you're going to cry," Gajeel sulked as he scratched the back of his neck and looked away from her as he stepped out of the way of the entrance, "But at least get inside, I can smell a fucking storm coming and no one likes being wet... well maybe except for that gloomy mage."

Levy managed to swallow harshly before she quickly skittered past him and over shot the distance so that she had a three-meter buffering zone between herself and the beast that was in front of her.

Gajeel's skin was no longer the tanned luster of a (fairly good looking) hard working Fairy Tail mage, but the horrifying color and texture of a metal _monster_. He had physically reverted back into the man that he had once been when he had been in Phantom Lord and it took all of Levy's willpower not to just bolt, sobbing the whole entire way. "So…" Gajeel murmured smelling the horrifying fear that was permeating the air. He tried not to wince for her sake but only recently had the smell finally died down around her and now with just one stupid spell everything he had worked for was for naught. This adventure was no longer in anyway amusing. He wished he was still back in the library watching her live her life happily instead of seeing her tremble now before him.

He was a man who couldn't see the woman he loved feeling any emotion other than happiness.

Levy swallowed again as she laughed nervously, "Beauty and the Beast?"

Gajeel just snorted harshly and took a step away from her hoping that it would make her stop her forsaken trembling, "The spell didn't need to take the effort to change my appearance." He was getting angry.

Levy's eyes softened slightly as she took two steps closer to him. The hook in her stomach made her rethink that action as she stopped in her progression and she simply shook her head, "You're not… not a beast Gajeel."

"Sure I am," Gajeel jeered as he flexed his fingers. Levy winced reflexively and Gajeel stopped his movements, "Only a beast would have done what I did to you." It was finally out in the open, the horrible history that they had shared together before he had joined Fairy Tail. Gajeel squeezed his eyes shut. His past would always haunt him. He had never seen himself standing here in front of a girl, hoping… just wishing that she would forgive him. Forgiveness, back then, had been nothing to him… and now it was everything.

The thundering of Levy's heart made her shoot forward a little bit more as the tips of her fingers brushed against his bicep. His skin was cold to the touch just like metal was but in a way his skin was still human and soft. Gajeel looked down to where the tips of her fingers were touching him and the pain in his face seemed to slightly melt away. This distance was the perfect distance for Levy's heart to calm down and yet for her stomach not to be torn to shreds though there was still the building pressure, "The you back then is not the you now. I just need a little bit of time. I just… please Gajeel."

"You sure bookworm? Because this place is big, I can get out of your sight if you don't want me around, the spell has to disperse itself eventually… right?"

"I'm sure," Levy murmured as she scooched just a little bit closer to him. "Only a little bit of time, I mean look! See how much closer I already am to you. I have been meaning to get rid of this feeling once and for all anyways." She laughed tensely as she tried to smile at him. The poor girl was still shaking and Gajeel let out a long, heavy sigh.

Gajeel grunted as he crossed his arms before nodding. Levy nodded along with him and giggled before she removed her fingers from his skin and used all her will power not to back away. "Do you want some food then?" Gajeel asked slowly as not to send her screaming.

"There's food here?"

"If it's anything like the actual story there are also probably invisible servants also running around as well," Gajeel murmured in affirmation as he looked around and tried to hear footsteps. No one was in the foyer with them but he knew that there were at least four invisible beings running around his not so humble abode. He could smell them.

"I'm feeling a little famished."

Gajeel stared down at the tiny girl as she once again nervously smiled up at him. "Alright, then lets get you some food."

When Levy rolled into bed later that night she wondered just how much longer this fairy tale would drag on compared to the others. The Three Little Pigs had been a short story to begin with and the same could be said for Little Red Riding Hood. They hadn't played out the plot like it was supposed to have gone, but they had escaped anyways and Levy didn't know what to make of that. She wondered just how far she would have to go in this world, and how much they would have to mess up before they were transported out of this hell and into the next one.

She knew that she hadn't done well in hiding her fear when Gajeel had sent her right to bed after their meal. He had already given her the courtesy of sitting opposite of her around a table that could easily support twelve, but that hadn't been enough. He had been trying to be considerate of her condition and Levy couldn't blame him for the hurt that he couldn't keep from his face. She was being irrational and stupid. Gajeel was Nakama now and sometimes when her heart beat loudly enough she could even toss up the idea that he was even more. However, as long as that hook was still stuck in her stomach she knew that that feeling was impossible. It was impossible anyways.

All Levy wanted to do now, as cowardly as it seemed, was escape this tale just so that she didn't have to stare down her worst nightmare in the eye every single passing minute. She was a horrible person and she knew it.

When her eyes snapped open for the third time during the night and she shot up in bed with sweat running down her brow, Levy knew that she couldn't sleep peacefully as long as she was still in the same building as him looking like that. There was also the added fact that it seemed like they were all alone in the unending darkness even though Levy knew, _knew_, that there were servants lurking in every corner.

Quickly and as quietly as she could, Levy threw her feet over the edge of the bed and clamored to the door of her bedroom. She took a peak into the hallway and looked back and forth seeing no one. She knew this was no guarantee that there wasn't someone watching her, but she couldn't hear any breathing or feel the vibrations of footsteps either.

Levy shut the door again as she stared at her bed long and hard wondering if she could make herself climb right back in between the restricting sheets. In her dreams they had felt like shackles around her wrists, binding her to what had felt like a wooden post… a large tree.

She knew she couldn't do it. Quickly Levy threw on a pair of pants that she found in a dresser, tightening the overly large piece of clothing with a belt. Levy threw open the door again as she scuttled down the hallway and tripped down the stairs to the front foyer and the large wooden doors where she had made her landing into this horrible fairy tale world. It was sad… she had loved The Beauty and The Beast as a child, but living it was a whole other story. Looking back into the looming darkness of Gajeel's castle she whispered a soft "Sorry" and a promise that "I'll be back in the morning" before she bolted into the rain.

Gajeel's eyes snapped open as he leapt out of bed and ran to his window. Already he could see a bright blob of blue disappear into the trees as he cursed loudly and shattered the window with his fist. "Shit! I should have just slept outside damn it!" He sneered as a jacket floated towards him from the servant that had clonked him over the head with the nearest vase just as he had instructed any of them to do if Levy were to make a run for it. Gajeel hadn't been able to stay awake himself to watch over her, he had already expended all of his energy trying not to scare her.

He had _known_ that she would make a run for it. He knew Levy. Why the _hell_ hadn't he left? Because he also knew that she was scared of the dark? Bullshit, bullshit, _bullshit_! The fact that she was out there under the moonlight rather than in here with him meant that there was something much more terrifying to her than the fucking dark.

Quickly pulling the over coat over his arms Gajeel jumped down from the second floor right into the foyer of the first and burst through the front doors not even caring to open the darn thing. The door needed replacing anyways if it was too light to keep Levy inside the damn castle while it was raining buckets. He would replace the wooden door with iron the moment that he had the chance.

"Bookworm!" Gajeel barked into the night as he entered the forest cursing due to the fact that the rain was quickly washing away her scent and that Levy had been frightened enough by him that the usually logical shorty would have actually bolted into such a torrential downpour. "Bookworm!" He was getting slightly frantic now as he looked to his right and to his left trying to get any scent of her at all. Everything looked the same to him and yet he was used to the conditions of the wild, he couldn't even imagine how disoriented Levy would be if she would just realize how irrational she was being. He just knew that her minute impulses had already disappeared and that she was probably now cowering under the canopy of a tree, muddy, soaked and scared. The thought frightened him too. He couldn't stand that idea of Levy being scared… that was why he couldn't stand himself at the best of times.

Gajeel dug his heels into the mud and stopped his hunt as he allowed a deep growl to rumble out of his throat. He rubbed his forehead harshly with his palm. "She's not the one being irrational damnit," he muttered, "I'm the one being irrational enough to think that she would warm up to…" Hope had gotten the better of him too soon. He had forgotten about the baby steps.

And then he heard it, the one thing that made his blood run cold and turn to ice. It was her scream… the same one that he had heard right before he had pinned her to that great tree and had scratched the crest of Phantom Lord on her stomach. It was amazing how in so little time his reaction to such a sound had so drastically changed. Gajeel bounced off the balls of his feet as he located her within moments and jumped right in between her and the mother bear that she had come across.

This girl had some kind of ridiculous luck. "Gajeel!" Levy whimpered as she scampered off the ground with the inklings of a bear's claws having torn through her arm. "I'm so sorry Gajeel, Gajeel," she cried as she tugged at her hair in frustration. Gajeel had been right, he was sure that she would have been crying all alone if she hadn't gotten herself into such a predicament. Gajeel knew Levy best.

Gajeel bit his lip as he quickly scanned for a way out without hurting the protective mother, any of her cubs or himself and the bookworm, but when the mother once again aimed for the little blue haired girl Gajeel found all of his survival instincts shutting down as he threw himself in front of Levy. He didn't make a sound when the claws dug into his lower arm; all he did was stare with his fierce red eyes into those of the bear's. In mere moment the bear backed off with a snort and trotted away with her cubs to find a place out of the rain to rest for the night. "Oi, you alright bookworm?" He couldn't look at her.

"You're bleeding," Levy murmured with wide shell shocked eyes, "How are you bleeding?"

"My skin was soft when you touched me earlier, right? I only _look_ like I'm a hunking scrap of metal," Gajeel grinned as he looked down at the girl who couldn't tear her eyes away from his arm. He needed to get the light back into her eyes. He didn't know how to deal with girls in shock. "Now how about you? Unlike me you aren't made of…"

"We need to get back."

"You don't want to go back," Gajeel stated with a low voice.

Levy bit her lip as her eyes squeezed tight in frustration, "It doesn't matter, and with the rain your wound is only going to keep bleeding out and really quickly too."

"I can take care of it myself, we need to find you a place to stay in the village first."

"Gajeel?"

"What?"

And then Levy's eyes opened and she snapped. She snapped because she had let her one moment of impulse make her make a terrible decision. She snapped because she felt so stupid for doubting the fact that the man in front of her had changed. She snapped because of all the things that he had to do; he had to follow along with all her little whims and wants. It was horrible, it was terrifying and this wasn't who Levy was!

When she tackled him down to the ground by his neck, clonked him on the forehead with her face and then began ripping apart her night shirt leaving absolutely nothing else to cover her top; Levy finally felt like she was back to being the 'smart one'. The one who cared and loved her Nakama more than anything else. Gajeel was her Nakama. "We are going to wrap you up. We are going to bring you home. We are going to clean you up and we are going to sit down and have a good long talk about how you shouldn't be so nice about how stupid I am!" She wanted to knock her head on something hard so that she would never forget who she was and who Gajeel had changed into. She never wanted to forget this feeling as the darkness on her shoulder's lifted off of her.

This should have happened ages ago. This same revelation should have happened when Gajeel had done the exact same thing before the whole incident of Fantasia. He had already leapt in front _Laxus_, an S-class mage five hundred times more threatening than a bear, to save her. But this really hit home… him doing this _again_ really hit home for her.

"What?" Gajeel replied dumbfounded as he stared to her chest while she used the pieces of her shirt to create makeshift bandages around his bleeding arm. The large bump on his head was beginning to ache and for a moment he wondered how it was that he was showing signs of damage while Levy's face hasn't taken any at all.

Although Levy believed herself to finally be enlightened, Gajeel really had to question how dense this girl was. Was she seriously stripping naked in front of him while they were alone in the middle of the woods? Oh _fucking_ hell! "Oi! That isn't going to do anything." He snapped his head away from her chest and then looked back before snapping his head away again and banging it on the nearest hard thing he could find. The hard object just so happened to be his fist as he tried to punch himself into blindness.

"Arg!" Levy cried as she stood up and began to undo the belt to her loosen pants. Her cheeks were puffed up again in frustration and Gajeel had a moment where he was relieved that she was back to the hard headed little girl that he had watched reading in the library.

But… Gajeel had, had enough at this point. Levy was silly and sexy. She was absolutely subjected to her emotions but so was he. Levy always got way into everything that she did and didn't always think of the consequences, so to stop her he simply picked her up and threw her over his shoulder with his good arm just so that he wouldn't have to look at her bare top anymore and then ran back to the castle as quickly as he could. He couldn't stand if he was the reason that she caught a cold. Or at least that was what he told himself as he made a mad dash through the rain.

"Oh wow… Gajeel you're wearing a jacket. I could have used that instead. Wait! Hey you're arm is still bleeding! I was just going to tie the circulation off with my belt!" He felt her hit him a couple more times in what she probably didn't realize was his ass because of that stupid jacket he was wearing. Gajeel had never ran so fast in all his life. The fact that he hadn't thought about Levy simply cutting off his circulation, a basic survival maneuver, when she had ripped off her belt, while half naked already, meant that he was indeed losing way too much blood much too fast and even worse than that… it was being rerouted to places he really didn't need at the moment.

Levy sat in front of the fireplace with a blush on her cheeks as she poked at the burning embers. Gajeel sat beside her and was acting as a wall for her to rest on as he glared at the fire with crossed legs and his hand holding up his chin. "You must think I'm the most ridiculous person ever."

"Yes," Gajeel stated bluntly as he continued to try to burn the image of her bare top out of his mind. Sadly fireplaces didn't do that kind of handy work and he was much too conscious of her warmth against his bandaged arm. Even worse, he didn't have the gall to tell her to move.

Levy laughed and breathed out. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing."

Levy giggled as she nodded her head again. Gajeel hadn't been able to get out more than two words at a time since they had gotten back to the castle and had basically let her do what ever she had wanted _only_ after forcing her to put on a new shirt. She didn't understand how that had to do with anything but she had pulled on a new shirt anyways and had ordered the invisible servants to get first aid supplies before tending to his wounds. Only when he had jabbed her, no words, did she realize that she was also still bleeding. What followed had been one of the most counter intuitive experiences that Levy had ever had. Gajeel had wrapped her arm up and she was sure that no one had ever been that gentle to her before. He was acting like she was porcelain but she supposed that compared to him she was. She puffed up her cheeks again as her eyebrows pulled into a frown. She hated being considered small and weak… but again… it was true compared to him.

"Bookworm…"

"Hm…"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome?"

"Library."

"Library?"

"Come." Gajeel stood up quickly and Levy had to right herself quickly or risk smacking her ear against the carpet. He dragged her up by her unharmed arm next and pulled her down the hallway.

"You know… you should try talking again."

Gajeel simply grunted as a blush glazed over his face. They reached a pair of large wooden doors and he pushed them open easily as she peaked into the darkness from behind his waist. She felt the rush of invisible servants pass her and then the room began to slowly light up as the lamps were lit by floating matches and one or two fireballs. "This library."

Levy blinked as she stared at the walls and rows of books that littered the room. The place was easily three times the size of the guild's library and Levy finally rued the day that she would have to leave this enchanted story. "When did you find this place?" Levy murmured as she quickly dashed into the room and span around like a little girl in order to take in all the texts that she was seeing. It was like her own personal heaven. Everything that she had ever wanted was inside this room all at once.

"While you were sleeping," Gajeel mumbled as he crossed his arms. Levy laughed when she saw that his ears had turned red, "In one or two versions of Beauty and the Beast, the Beast has a library for the Beauty so I thought why not try to find one for… you." His ears twitched as they continued to flush. It was odd how his face wouldn't darken more than that speckle of pink but his ears could burst into flames. Levy supposed that that was just the way the Iron Dragon Slayer was built. She wondered if he even had the constitution to truly blush.

"You're talking again," Levy giggled. "This is amazing, all of this," she sighed as her eyes scanned the bound pages.

Gajeel grunted, "I knew you would like it."

Levy grinned at him and stepped back to stand right in front of him. Slowly she reached out to take his hand as she dragged him, like he had dragged her, right into the midst of the literature. "Gajeel, I've been meaning to ask you since we had met up in the Three Little Pigs but…" she hesitated as she stopped her journey and turned back to him, "How do you know so much about all these fairy tales? I've never pegged you to be a reader and yet you make it seem like you even know several versions of each one."

If Gajeel hadn't been blushing before, he was definitely blushing now. Levy's hypothesis was totally wrong; the man could blush. His ears wouldn't stop twitching and she could swear that his ears were the same color as her tongue. It was an odd comparison and she pondered the act of putting the two items side by side just to see. And then she realized what exactly she had just thought about subconsciously and looked away from Gajeel quickly.

Overall though, Gajeel was an odd color considering that he was still the hue of cold iron. Levy couldn't help but raise her eyebrow about the fact that the man was actually blushing at all in the first place and that she actually _had_ been wrong. She wondered what he would look like with his proper coloring. "I've had a lot of time and chances to catch up on some reading."

"Really?"

"Yah, now stop bugging me. Go read or something bookworm." Levy just looked at him like he was crazy before she reluctantly nodded and turned away. Gajeel let out a slow breath as he watched her stretch to reach some of the books that she did not immediately recognize. It was true; he had had lots of time recently to catch up on his reading while he hid himself in the library to watch over her. He knew that he was the most pathetic, sorry excuse for a man ever, Mirajane's evil laugh when she had discovered him proved that, but he hadn't been able to stop since the first time that he had stumbled into the library and had seen her doing her work in her Levy like fashion. It had been enchanting just like the first time when he had seen her decode Fried's spell in Fantasia.

Gajeel stopped his thought process before he got too mushy. It was still too early for that kind of fluff to gum up his razor sharp teeth.

With a sigh Gajeel stepped up behind Levy and plucked the book that she was reaching for off the shelf. "Here."

"Thank you," Levy murmured as she nearly glowed.

"Yah, whatever."

Two evenings after and a large stack of finished books in her bedroom later, Levy dropped her current book with a bang to the floor as she stared at her dresser as though she was seeing a monster right before her very eyes. Of all the things that she had expected, this was not one of them. She was recalling that the version of the fairy tale that they were living resembled ridiculously closely to an animated movie version that she had adored above all else as a kid. She had always wanted to live that kind of romance when she grew up, as unlikely and as stupid as it had been.

But back to the matter at hand, "What is this?"

The beautiful yellow dress danced off of its hanger as an invisible servant began to try to undress her. Levy found this to be the most scarring experience yet as she felt but couldn't see the hands of person that she might or might not know touch her skin. In the end Levy had dressed herself as her hair was carefully done up. She knew it was Lucy behind her hairstyle the moment it was done. Lucy always knew what to do with her hair.

"Did Gajeel really tell you to do this?" Levy murmured as she stared at her reflection. The dress was the same hue, if not brighter, than the dress in the animated film that she had loved as a child, but instead of being princess like, it hugged her slender frame and accentuated all of her short stature assets.

She hadn't expected an answer from the shadow of her friend so when two letters were written on her back with the tip of a finger Levy had to resist the urge to scream. She didn't do well in that factor and in the next moment Gajeel had blasted his way into her room. Talk about over protective.

Levy snorted in laughter when Gajeel's jaw hit the floor and he began to splutter. In the next second he was long gone, cursing down the hallway about meddling idiots being freaking _everywhere_. "Well…" Levy could almost hear Lucy laughing as a hand rested on her shoulder before coaxing her out of the room to chase after the awkward and oddly lovable Iron Dragon Slayer. This thought would not have been applicable just days ago.

When Levy left the room without any qualms, invisible Lucy, with all her might, wanted to comment on the fact that the hook was finally gone. The blonde wondered how long it would take for Levy to realize why her heart beat like it did.

The servant Lucy had only known the Beauty for less than a week, but already she, and every other servant in the castle, could see just what the relationship dynamic between the two who had dropped into their world was. But it was probably too soon for something like that to be revealed to the main characters. First they needed to get used to each other and servant Natsu out of all people had come up with the perfect plan. Lucy squealed as she ran to find her invisible friend.

Levy knocked on Gajeel's door timidly as she heard the bangs and crashes from the other side. Under the touch of her fingers she could feel the door heating up and cooling down in rapid succession. It was obvious that Gajeel was fighting something, and Levy had a guess as to what or who, and that Gajeel wasn't winning at all. If Lucy had been one of her invisible attendants that meant that Natsu, Gray and Erza were also around and right now she was sure that servant Natsu and servant Gray were doing something extremely bizarre to the poor Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Get away from me!" Gajeel screamed.

"You already hit me on the head with a vase you bloody Salamander, get away!"

"Are you fucking naked you stripper? Stop touching me!"

Before Levy could shout out her greeting and barge into Gajeel's room, someone grabbed her arm and dragged her down stairs and into the ballroom. Only Erza's grip could be so demanding yet loving at the same time.

So Levy waited in the center of the beautifully lit ballroom for her Beast. She stood and she waited in her yellow dress as more bangs and crashes sounded before Gajeel Redfox appeared at the top of the stairs slightly disheveled but dressed mostly for his part.

Levy couldn't help but burst out in a fit of giggles at first glance while trying to cover it up with her hands. She noted to never try and dress Gajeel up ever again. The look just didn't work for him at all.

Gajeel twitched as he adjusted the tie that was around his neck and tried to shove his hands into the non-existent pockets in his pants. This was just not working for him as he quickly and nervously traversed down the stairs while pulling at his collar awkwardly.

It didn't really help that he wasn't looking at his feet, but instead only at where he was going, right to where Levy was standing. He couldn't take his eyes off of Levy. If he had thought she had looked beautiful sitting in her room… then there were no words to describe her surrounded by the shimmering candlelight and ice crystals hovering in the air. There he went… going all mushy and shit again.

"That sounded like a pretty bad fight up there," Levy murmured as he stopped to stand in front of her.

"It was the stripper and the Salamander," Gajeel grunted as he continued to try and inconspicuously stare at her. It was hard to do so when he was standing right in front of her.

Levy laughed and nodded and laughed even more when music suddenly flowed into the large ballroom and caused the massive ice chandelier above to quiver and bend light majestically over the scene. "They planned this out really well."

"Stupid fucking meddlers in every world those fucking four are," Gajeel hissed.

Servants Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Erza had pulled other stunts too in the past two days, such as shortening their twelve person table until it was only long enough for Gajeel and Levy to eat face in face and then messing up all the bedrooms except for the one beside Levy's so that Gajeel wouldn't be able to get any sleep what so ever without feeling like an awful, awful guy. He couldn't even bunk in the forest because he didn't want to upset Levy and he was bloody _whipped_.

Servant Erza had gone on to even shoot pretty little cupid arrows at Levy (the tip was actually shaped like a heart… what a conundrum that S-class mage was), so that Gajeel couldn't be away from her for any extended period of time without the fear of the little bookworm dying. Titania's cupid arrows fucking _killed_ people. Even Gajeel couldn't see the romance in that. Gajeel was never gladder that Titania hadn't developed the barmaid's personality. Imagine if Erza went around trying to shoot people on a daily basis.

Gajeel didn't know how to fight invisible enemies like these. At least the people in the actual world he could see and knock out easily. Well maybe not Titania, but the Salamander and the Stripper he could deck.

Levy snorted as she reached out and took his hand into hers. She could have sworn that he had shivered at her touch, but this was Gajeel she was talking about and something like that was ridiculous for him. It wasn't ridiculous for her though as she felt her heart thump against her chest. "Dance with me? That'll probably appease them."

"You think?"

"Might as well anyways. This kind of chance in this sort of setting is too hard to pass up. Don't you know that this fairy tale is my most favorite?" Gajeel did, he really, really did and this was what had kept him going for the months that he had yearned for her even while knowing that she still didn't feel _right_ around him.

And just as he held her by the waist and pulled her closer, fully submitting to the fact that the shorty in front of him captivated him and that this would never change, the ballroom burst into light and the candle flames fizzled to glowing balls of embers.

Levy smiled at him as he continued to hold on to her. Levy was absolutely glowing and he knew that though she had taken two steps closer to him, he had taken one step away by wholly admitting that he was in love.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra: Gajeel on reading The Beauty and The Beast<strong>

Gajeel resisted the urge to sniffle as he wiped at the tears springing to the corner of his eyes. He closed the book with a small pop, waking Patherlily up by his side. The Exceed rubbed his eyes with his tiny paws before grunting, "You're still reading that? What time is it?"

"It doesn't matter," Gajeel murmured as he patted the book gently. Now he knew why Levy had hid this book so well in the library and refused to lend it to anyone. The tale was absolutely brilliant. He loved it.

He loved that fact that she loved it. His heart beat in hope.

"You know… she's going to clobber someone when she finds out that her book is missing."

"I'll put it back in its place tomorrow morning," Gajeel grunted, "Or put the blame on the she-demon or the Salamander."

"Don't think you should test Mirajane more than you already are."

"How is it that anyone still thinks that she's innocent?"

"I've heard stories about her in the past. Compared to then she would be considered pretty innocent now."

"I think I would have rather had another Erza than a matchmaking fiend."

"I happen to really like Mirajane."

"You would, wouldn't you Lily?"

Pantherlily chuckled and patted Gajeel on the arm soothingly. "She'll get over it someday."

"When the world ends."

"Or when you get the girl."

"I don't even want to think about what the barmaid will do if I ever get the girl."

"Did I just hear hope in your voice Gajeel?" Lily questioned in surprise as he raised a small eyebrow.

Gajeel turned his eyes to look at the book he had stolen from the library again, "Maybe…"

Pantherlily watched as Gajeel's eyes faded off and he was transported to a world far away. Lily couldn't help but smile as Gajeel let out a small sigh and sniffled again while fingering the book almost lovingly. Pantherlily would never say it, but he probably loved his partner as much as his partner loved him. "Daydreaming?"

"Hm?"

"You dancing with Levy?"

"Hm."

"I hope you are imagining this accurately," Pantherlily piped as he brought his paw to paw and stated factually, "You tripped didn't you?"

"Shut up!"

"You stepped on and ripped her pretty dress, didn't you?"

"Lily…"

"You face planted yourself and rolled over to look up her skirt didn't you?" When Gajeel didn't reply Pantherlily gave him a solid whack to the head. "Bastard!"

* * *

><p><strong>Next Time on The Fairy's Tale<strong>

Levy's eyes snapped open and immediately she knew that she had already messed up. She knew that she was spending way too much time with Gajeel. It wasn't in her constitution to mess up things like this. It was simple; all she technically had to do was stay asleep. "Indeed," a voice beside her ear seemed to tease as she squealed and rolled out of the bed that she had been sleeping on, "Good morning princess."

* * *

><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

Not nearly as funny... but I thought it was sweet... plus it had to happen eventually right? Haha how cliche am I? But it works so well for them doesn't it? It totally does! Now that that's out of the way though... its time for Levy to be just as silly as Gajeel!

note to RomanticVoltaire: You're just a little bit ahead of the game... just a little bit : P


	5. The Fourth Fairy's Tale

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

* * *

><p><strong>The Forth Fairy's Tale<strong>

Levy's eyes snapped open and immediately she knew that she had already messed up. She knew that she was spending way too much time with Gajeel. It wasn't in her constitution to mess up things like this. It was simple; all she technically had to do was stay asleep. "Indeed," a voice beside her ear seemed to tease as she squealed and rolled out of the bed that she had been sleeping on, "Good morning princess."

Levy tried to snap her head in Gajeel's direction and childishly stick her tongue out at him but she found that moving was a real issue for her as she twitched on the spot, still on the cold stone floor. "Ugg," she growled as she tried to move her arms so that she could flip herself over and get her nose out of the cracks between the rocks. The moment that she no longer wanted to smash her head against something hard, fate just had to give her the perfect chance.

The next thing that Levy registered was that she was being tenderly picked up off the ground and gently set on the bed. "Be careful, you've been sleeping for a long time. A couple days since we've landed here, probably a couple more years story wise."

"Am I another 'Beauty'?" Levy questioned as she tried to twitch her fingers as much as possible so that she could regain her movement quicker. Levy just knew that she looked like a dying fish.

Gajeel seemed to bite down on his lip quickly before he laughed like how he always did, "I'm going to guess a sleeping Beauty."

"This is getting ridiculous," Levy murmured as she continued to flop around on the bed in a desperate attempt to get her muscles moving.

"No, this is getting fun," Gajeel grinned as he crossed his arms and simply watched her flop.

"What? Did you have your fun fighting the evil witch and then kissing me to wake me up?"

"If I did kiss you, you sure are taking it lightly."

"Just wait until my brain catches up to my mouth Gajeel."

"Can't wait. But don't worry about it princess, I didn't kiss you."

"Then why am I awake?"

"Don't ask me, maybe you twitched or something…"

"Did you just miss out on your chance of kissing me before I woke up or something? Wait… why did you wait a couple of days to even try to wake me up?" Levy asked as she groaned and tried to bend her knee. Once again Gajeel just gave her a look and she tried to wave him away, "Again, wait for my brain to catch up with my mouth."

"What makes you think I'm the prince?"

"Well of course you're the prince, this is Sleeping Beauty we're talking about. There is the sleeping beauty, which right now I wish I wasn't," Levy murmured as she tried to roll around on the bed to get comfortable, "The prince, the good fairies, the evil witch and in one version there is the dra… You're the dragon."

Gajeel grinned, "I'm the dragon."

"You're the bloody dragon."

"I'm the bloody dragon."

"Have you killed my prince already?"

"Nice to know you have good faith in me," Gajeel smirked.

"Oh wow… you killed him… now what are we supposed to do…"

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it princess."

"I meant to tell you this earlier, but stop calling me that!"

Gajeel grinned happily, "Princess Levy," he mocked.

"Stop it!" she shouted as she attempted to kick him. With her overly slow movements he caught her foot more easily than normal and continued to just laugh at her, "First you kill my prince and then you laugh at me!"

"I haven't killed your prince yet…" Gajeel grinned, "yet. Trust me, I will though."

"My prince is going to get killed. No he's not just going to get killed, you're going to play with your food before you eat him! My prince is going to get slaughtered," Levy cried as she stiffly raised her arms to rub her dry eyes. Her theatrics weren't going very well for her but Gajeel thought she looked adorable anyways.

"Slaughtered sounds about right."

"Jerk," Levy sniffed. When Gajeel laughed at her actions she couldn't help but let the laugh tickling at her throat bubble out as well.

"You're laugh is kind of nice bookworm."

"Given up on the princess thing already?"

"You don't like it," Gajeel replied with a shrug of his shoulders as though he made total sense. Of course he didn't and of course Levy felt her heart skip a beat and then some.

"So what version of Sleeping Beauty is this?" Levy asked as she looked around.

Gajeel's eyes hardened into steel, "The fact that you woke up without true love's dumbass kiss should hint to you that. I'm surprised you didn't catch on sooner."

"Oh…" Levy murmured as her brain finally caught up with her mouth, "the one where the prince r- impregnates her and her newborn children suck out the flax that made her fall asleep…"

"Not happening."

Levy wanted to laugh as she patted him softly on the chest, "Not with you as my dragon, I'm sure. Plus… since I'm awake there's no more flax to suck out. Oh wow… am I already pregnant?" Levy mumbled as she stared down at her, thankfully, flat stomach. Though she could just be in her first trimester the look on Gajeel's face reassured her that no… she was not pregnant.

Gajeel snorted, "Not with me in this story… period."

"Please, please kill my prince."

"I thought you were crying over that."

"I've changed my mind… and my brain is fully functional now even though my limbs still aren't. This sucks."

Gajeel let out a hardy laugh as he took hold of one of her hands and began to slowly massage her fingers, "Sure princess."

"You said you were going to stop."

"Yes princess," Gajeel grinned as Levy turned a brilliant shade of red and tried to smack him with the hand that he was holding. All Gajeel did was tighten his hold on her as he reached over her stiff body to take her other hand into his other. Never before had Levy felt her heart strum so loudly as when Gajeel continued to massage all of her muscles into working order with the pads of his thumbs. Then again Levy could easily explain away the beating of her heart with the fact that she had never been touched so much by one person before and that Gajeel probably had never had this much human contact in all his life.

He moved from her hands to her arms before lifting her off the bed and climbing behind her to reach her shoulders and then going down her back with the base of his palms. By then Levy found that she could lean forward as she began to work on one of her two legs with her tiny fingers. Gajeel's large hands got the work done faster as he removed himself from behind her and sat in front of her with her foot in his lap.

Levy noted the fact that their silence was comfortable rather than awkward. It was the sign of the change that had taken place between them… within her.

Levy never had had a particular _thing_ before, but as she continued to feel Gajeel's hands squeeze up and down her leg and watch the tendons tense and relax in their comfortable silence, Levy thought that she wouldn't mind if she suddenly had a thing for hands… Gajeel's hands in particular. "Hm," Levy hummed as he batted her hands away from her second leg, determining that she was much too slow in trying to recover herself.

"Just let me do it bookworm," Gajeel grumbled as he battled away her hands again when she tried to fight him on the matter. Her hands came at what he thought was her leg for the third time and he believed he would finally relent to her hardheaded stubbornness, he wasn't one to complain, when the tips of her fingers skittered over his knuckles instead.

He looked up slightly perplexed as the tiny girl in front of him, dressed truly like a princess, smiled and whispered quietly, "Thank you." Her palm flattened over his hand and her warmth streamed into him like something incredible. Gajeel almost had to physically rip his eyes away from her lips before she started acting all cautious around him again. These fairy tales had been the best thing that had happened to him since he had joined Fairy Tail, although he would never admit either of those two claims in the future.

"Whatever, we just need you up and running just incase this prince of yours is more of a skeez than he already sounds." Gajeel's ears were red again as he stared at her leg. Only seconds later did he realize that her leg was not a good second option to her lips when Levy laughed at him and removed her hand from his. It took Gajeel a moment to reel in his sanity and not yell at her to put her hand right back where it had been. Instead he grunted as he removed his hands from leg and stood back up.

Levy wobbled slightly as she tried to climb off of the bed and quickly grabbed on to the closest stabilizing object with both of her hands before she once again face planted herself. Gajeel jumped back with a yell when she latched onto his arm, which only served to make her tumble to the ground with a squeal. "Hey!"

"Shit sorry, give me a warning next time bookworm," Gajeel muttered as he held a hand out to her with a flush still on his face. He could not believe that he had reacted like that for something so non-threatening like _Levy_.

Levy glared at him through the tendrils of her hair but then her eyes softened as she realized that a blush didn't look too bad an a properly colored Gajeel before she took his hand and he easily yanked her back up to her feet. "You're acting peculiarly skittish. Are you sure you aren't a 'good' prince who actually did kiss me and now you're regretting the fact that you blatantly lied to me?"

"Do you want me to kiss you or something bookworm?"

"Oh wow, no," Levy snorted as she began to attempt to walk out of the room with as much dignity and grace as she could muster while still absolutely and totally relying on the Iron Dragon Slayer at her side.

Gajeel cackled slightly as he became fed up with her new born fawn muscles and easily swung her up into his arms with her screaming the whole entire way. "This is faster."

"You jerk!" Levy squawked as she slammed her fist a couple times into his collarbone, "How am I supposed to recover if you're carrying me around. Be patient for once."

"You will never understand just how patient of a guy I can be," Gajeel muttered as he recalled the way that the guild always stared at him after he had just burst out of the library seconds before Levy walked out. Those stares bothered him more than he would ever let on because instead of being eyes of laughter, a vast majority of those had turned into stares of pity. He would prove to the guild that it wasn't impossible to make the bookworm look at him. Wasn't she at least glaring at him now?

Making her feel the way about him that he felt about her though was an entirely different story and that was where barmaid and bunny girl's stares were different. It was almost like they knew she would warm up to him eventually; he had only been watching her for a couple months, those months had felt like years. Those two stares though, were the stares of people who could guess what would happen next. The barmaid knew everything that happened in guild, even more so than Master Makarov and the bunny girl was the bookworm's closest friend.

The future always freaked Gajeel out more than Dark Guilds any day. This was why those two scared the crap out of him. Hope was one slow and painful killer.

"I would never peg you for a patient man Gajeel," Levy muttered as she flopped her head back and let him carry her around. Her muscles were beginning to have that odd ticklish and yet painful sensation anyways and she didn't particularly want to walk about with him laughing at her while she acted like she was dancing on coals. "Though this position is going to get pretty tough when Mr. Prince shows up. As good of a fighter as you are, I don't particularly think that you're good enough to fight with no hands and dead weight on you."

"Obviously I'll just set you down at that point," Gajeel snorted.

"That's so much work though, you have to hide me somewhere and then go and find the prince again and then…"

"I have a better capacity to protect you when you're by my side bookworm."

"Eh?"

"Whatever happens just stay by my side."

It took all of Levy's willpower not to take that comment any other way then what Gajeel should have intended it for while Gajeel was inwardly ridiculously proud of the fact that he could spew out double meanings. Those days in the library reading the books that Levy read were finally catching up to him. And then he realized how much of a skeez that made him sound. Maybe the barmaid did have a point about the fact that he sometimes acted like a stalker. "Are you in pain?" Levy murmured softly.

"Huh?"

"You just winced."

"Did I?"

"I'll take that to mean that you're fine," Levy said with a smile.

"Yah."

"I'm tired."

"It probably has to do with the whole Sleeping Beauty thing."

"It's already messed up. It's not like I'm particularly beautiful compared to for example Cana or Lucy."

"Pft."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you're blind."

"Excuse me?"

"General opinion."

"Jerk."

"Also a general opinion."

"So where are you taking me?"

Gajeel laughed his classic sound as he smirked at her, "To the kitchen, you're going to make a good dinner."

"What?"

"Remember I'm a dragon, I eat people."

"You're lying!"

"I am, but seriously if you ever meet an actual dragon don't trust him and let you bring him where ever. Do you have any survival instincts bookworm?"

"I'm only letting you carry me around because I trust you!"

Gajeel paused in his footsteps. "You what?"

Levy bit her lower lip, "I trust you… I trust you Gajeel."

Gajeel opened his mouth to reply but before he could let out a single sappy, sugar filled word his head snapped to the left and his eyes widened, "Shit… why the hell does it have to be him out of all people?"

"Huh?" Levy questioned. Her answer came in the form of lightening tearing down the wall to their left as Gajeel span around to shield her from the flying rubble.

"It just had to be him…" Gajeel sneered as Levy clung to his neck helpless as electricity skittered all around both of them.

Prince Laxus grinned at them from the other side of the giant hole. "Is that my pretty princess you weak excuse for a lizard?" Laxus leered at Levy like the skeez that the fairy tale wanted him to be. It didn't match his image at all.

"Did he just call me pretty?" Levy muttered shocked.

"Don't take it personally, his personality's all twisted anyways."

Levy smacked Gajeel over the head with a huff as she peaked over the Dragon Slayers shoulder to peak at Laxus. The Lightning second generation Dragon Slayer was wearing typical princely wear. Levy really wondered how in all names colors like purple and gold looked good on Laxus. Then again they didn't. The giant magenta feather sticking out of Laxus' headgear wasn't very suitable either and made the S-Class mage look like someone that someone like Droy could blow away. Not that Levy was saying that Droy was weak or anything… it was just… this was Laxus Dreyar they were talking about. Giant purple feathers weren't normally associated with him.

Gajeel looked at Levy perplexed, ignoring the attire that Laxus was sporting in favor for the girl in his arms. Why had she smacked him? "Hey don't get mad, I didn't get mad over the fact that he called me a lizard!"

Although Laxus had proven, not of his own will, that he cared about Fairy Tail, the fact that he had heartlessly attacked her for no reason was still fresh in Levy's mind. It made her also recall just who had saved her at that time as well. "This scenario almost seems like its rigged…"

"You think?"

"Don't be sarcastic with me. Now go mighty dragon, go prove that you aren't just some big lizard and make sure he doesn't…" Levy gulped and flushed slightly, "He still looks like Laxus, I can't see it. Laxus isn't that kind of a power seeker…"

"And I can't unsee it. Stay behind me bookworm as I punch this skeez of a prince to a pulp." Gajeel set her down on the ground gently as the pins and needles raced along the surfaces of her skin.

"Not like I can move without banging into walls anyways. Plus… you told me to stay… so I will."

Gajeel snorted to hide his red ears as he turned back to Laxus who merely grinned at him, magenta feather bouncing. Now that Gajeel was actually paying attention to what Laxus was wearing he couldn't help but snort loudly. "Give me my princess you dastardly dragon."

"Over my dead body you bastard."

"I can arrange for that monster!"

Levy giggle, "This sounds like a really badly written play."

"Stay out of a man's battle bookworm."

"Now you sound life Elfman," Levy huffed before she leaned back against the wall and made herself into the smallest ball that she could, "Then you should stop talking and start doing what you do best."

Gajeel grinned, his teeth flashing in the light that was pouring through the hole Laxus had made with his arrival. Back home, in their world, Gajeel didn't stand a chance in beating the S-class mage one on one but here, in the world of Sleeping Beauty, the guy might have still had control over lightning, but he was also wearing purple tights and golden pumpkin pants.

Levy picked at the threads sticking out of the hem of her dress wondering how long she had to of been asleep for for her dress to wear out so dramatically on its own. She didn't even look up when Gajeel literally morphed into a large lizard/dragon. She was already getting used to these fairy tales being stupidly absurd.

She didn't even mind that Gajeel hadn't accounted for the fact that his overly large dragon form blasted his head right through the stone ceiling of the castle. At least he had had enough foresight to protect her with a batting of his large black, metal, scaly tail. Levy looked up with large eyes as the tail continued to swish above her even when all that was over her head was blue sky. Levy wondered if grabbing it to see what it felt like would impair Gajeel too much in his fight against the man that was now the size of half of Gajeel's foot (swish, swish). Her eyes drooped slightly as she nodded off for just a second before deciding that she needed some sort of distraction (swish, swish).

Levy shrugged as she reached up to grab the tail just as Gajeel breathed iron pellets at the poor prince. Lighting struck the ground as more pellets showered the ruins of the castle. For a second the tail flicked up and out of her hands and Levy gasped in injustice before the cold, living, metal returned to her palms almost obediently. It was hotter than before though; Gajeel had gotten himself injured again. How stupid of him.

Laxus would kill whoever put him in this fairy tale once he came back to the guild and found out just how weak of a role he had received. Levy didn't mind that much. Prince Laxus was more a skeez then anyone that she had ever met and Laxus was half and half in her books. At least Fairy Tail Laxus didn't go around hunting for comatose girls to… and Levy felt hot breath on the crown of her head as she looked up into Dragon Gajeel's red eyes. "Done already?"

"Gihihi."

"Really? That's the one sound that you retain as a dragon?"

"Gihihi, gihihi?"

"I happen to very much like your tail."

"Gihihi."

"Yes I do realize it's just like metal, but you see Gajeel, it _moves_."

"Gihihi, gihihi!"

"Well, you might have the ability to turn your limbs into metal, but do you have a tail? I say not."

"Gihihi."

"You're right, your hair could easily stand in for a tail… but can you turn that into metal?"

"Gihihi."

"Hm… you're going to have to show me that when we get out of this mess."

And finally Gajeel morphed back into the physical form of the man that she knew as he raised his eyebrow at her, "You understood all of that?"

"There are books on the dragon language," Levy grinned as her hands twitched, already missing the swishing motion of the appendage that the Iron Dragon Slayer now lacked, "Don't underestimate the bookworm."

"Trust me, I won't ever underestimate you again. The last time I thought you were weak set off a whole entire series of events that led me to…" he stopped himself, "You're awfully something wicked for being so small."

"Small packages just have less empty space," Levy chirped as she reached her arms up to grab Gajeel's neck, "Now get us out of this mess before I start to coat my lungs with dust."

"Pft, princess."

"But I understand now."

"Understand what?"

"Why you refuse to change that bizarre laugh of yours."

"You think my laugh is bizarre?"

"It was the same way that your father, Metalicana, spoke wasn't it?"

Gajeel blinked down at the little bookworm before he grunted, "Yah…"

"You learn something new every day."

"Tch," Gajeel snorted as he tried not to grin like a goofy kid. He didn't think that something as simple as this girl understanding a part of his past without him having to tell her could make him feel so ridiculously happy. Instead, as he hefted her up into a more comfortable position, his muscles seized and if Levy hadn't been holding onto his neck she would have landed on her butt and very likely her head.

"You got hurt."

"I always get hurt."

"You got shocked."

"Only slightly."

"I smell burning hair."

"Oh god, not the hair," Gajeel murmured sarcastically as he gripped on to her tighter so that if his muscles did decide to betray him, Levy wouldn't be the one to get the brunt of it.

"Remember that you need to show me what it's like when it's metal!"

"Yah, yah princess."

Levy smacked him over the head as he laughed at her. "You know, I'm surprised that you didn't lose. In the real story the dragon is supposed to lose and the Beauty goes away with the prince."

"Not that prince."

"In the story she still ends up with him."

"Told you it won't happen as long as I'm here."

"You always get hurt unnecessarily when you change the plot of the story Gajeel. First when you protected me in the Three Little Pigs… and then when you protected me in Little Red Riding Hood…"

"We also got Beauty and the Beast right and I still got hurt. Even worse than the other times."

"That wasn't unnecessary, it was part of the story," Levy murmured as she began to doze again, her head dropping at periodic rhythms, "You didn't get hurt at the very end though... it was actually a pretty nice ending…"

Gajeel coughed awkwardly, "You think? Wait no, don't distract me. Your logic is stupid!"

"Maybe you should have lost against the prince, that way you wouldn't have had to have gotten hurt."

"Arbitrary logic shorty. Keh, anyways, why would I lose against putty like that? The prince didn't have even one-eighth of the real guy's power and like you said, fighting is what I do best; you get injured when you fight. It's all part of the deal."

"Metal conducts electricity," Levy murmured, "Maybe your heart would have short circuited or something..."

"And if you were so scared of that, why were you touching my tail then?"

Levy grinned at him with half lidded eyes, "Simple impulse."

"Impulse?"

"I just wanted to touch you," Levy murmured as she fell to the world of sleep while still holding on to him tightly.

Gajeel turned a marvelous shade of red just as their world turned to dust. Gajeel tightened his hold on Levy as he dipped his nose down and buried it into the crown of her hair. Levy would never know just how long he had wanted to just touch her too. He tightened his grip.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra: Gajeel on reading Sleeping Beauty<strong>

"Can you believe this Lily?" Gajeel muttered as he tapped the finished book on his cat's head, "How they hell did the pretty princess manage to choose him after he rapes her? That's absurd and even I know that, that's not right. True loves first kiss is starting to sound more reasonable and I think that shit is stupid."

Lily scuffed, "Even you wouldn't stoop so low as to take a sleeping girl. And stop trying to fake it Gajeel, you and I both know that you sniffled at the end of _that_ version."

"I shouldn't even be put close to that category of man," Gajeel muttered offended as he totally ignored the point where he had gotten dust in his eye. He really had only gotten dust in his eyes. Seriously, it was the truth.

Lily simply gave him a pointed look as Gajeel looked away, "I see..."

"Imagining Levy… like that isn't the same as actually knocking her unconscious and…"

Lily grunted with laughter and crossed his arms while shaking his head, "I get it Gajeel I get it. I actually never thought you would have been in that category of that kind of guy anyways."

"Why not?"

"I thought you were offended by this."

"I'd still like to know why," Gajeel snorted.

"Imagine kissing Levy, like actually kissing her, your lip on her lip for just a split second. The innocent kind, a short peck on the cheek even." Lily instructed with a wave of his paw. When Gajeel turned a ridiculous shade of red and spluttered quietly, Lily simply grinned, "You have the mentality of a five year old boy in love at heart. _That_ is why."

"I am not a five year old boy. I've imagined her—"

Lily graciously clobbered him in the stomach as Gajeel groaned in pain. "You can't even see yourself kissing her on the nose you big sap. You might be able to imagine the down and dirty but that just detaches you from the romance that freaks you out. It freaks you out because you'd rather have the romance Gajeel."

"Why would I want to kiss her on the nose?"

"Because you think her nose is cute," Lily grunted with an amused smile, "But that wasn't my point!"

Gajeel went an impressive shade of red again as he looked away from his cat and out the window. So maybe he did think that Levy's nose was cute, but so what? That didn't make him…

"A five year old in love."

"Shove it."

Lily simply continued to shake his head and laugh. "You're so _cute _Gajeel." Lily really did know how to push all of Gajeel's buttons.

Gajeel's eyes widened as he stared at his cat, "Did you just call me…?"

"And this is why you are the perfect match for Levy. You're twisted; she's cute. You're secretly cute; she's secretly twisted. You and I both know that you liked that true love's first kiss thing, so don't deny it!"

Gajeel grunted as his eyes narrowed, "I'm not a sap and don't go spouting out that perfect match crap. Especially to that barmaid you like so much."

"Keep telling yourself that."

_"I need to think about investing in a desk and chair," Levy sighed._

Gajeel's eyes lit up like stars as he stared down at the blue haired solid script mage as she stood up from the floor. With that one comment the argument was shoved out of his head and Pantherlily was no longer roaming around his brain mocking him. Gajeel just didn't care when Levy _wanted_ something. She never wanted anything.

Lily gave him _the look_ as Lily could practically see the thoughts that were racing through Gajeel's mind. "And you don't call yourself a sap."

"Shut up, planning in progress. Do you think they'll miss a table on the second floor of the tavern? I don't think I have enough scrap metal to…"

Lily simply shook his head and smiled for his partner as Gajeel continued to make his plans for the next morning like a child for their one true love. Being a sap wasn't bad, not when it made Gajeel's eyes shine like that.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Time on The Fairy's Tale<strong>

"You tell me. This whole entire household is made of women logic and I'm starting to feel like I don't belong."

Levy giggled and straightened up, "Well you don't have to worry Gajeel. Us women don't particularly expect men to…" she turned around and then burst into a fit of giggles as she began to slap her knee and beg for air. Giggling was a nice way of saying it. Levy was snorting like she was back in the Three Little Pigs.

Gajeel glared at her with crossed arms noting that she was not even fearing for her life as she dropped to her knees and began to cry from laughter. "Oi, it isn't that funny!"

* * *

><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

My favorite part is where Gajeel is a dragon. Hands down... but it seemed a little bit more funny when I was actually writing it... Hm...

Quick update just for you guys lots of love.

note to Ulcaasi: From the arc where Gajeel is still in Phantom Lord and he's fighting Natsu. He turns his skin to metal and looks a little bit more evil. That's what he looks like. Sorry if that doesn't help at all haha


	6. The Fifth Fairy's Tale

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

* * *

><p><strong>The Fifth Fairy's Tale<strong>

"Levy!" Levy rolled over in her bed and pulled the covers over her head as her face scrunched up. "Levy!" Slowly shifting she picked up her pillow and slammed it over her ears. "Levy!" The door slammed open and mother Evergreen stood there with a sneer on her face. Levy blinked slowly. Evergreen looked like she always looked, absolutely terrifying. "Cinder Levy!"

"Huh?" Levy murmured as she sat up from her bed.

"How dare you sleep in!" mother Evergreen shrieked as she marched over to the bed and pulled the covers off the mattress and threw them on the floor before stomping on them with her heels. "I feed you and I cloth you and you repay me by sleeping in? My beautiful fairy-like daughters need to get ready for the prince's ball and because you have decided not to wake up and to serve breakfast they now might not be the first to greet his highness!"

"Huh?"

"As punishment you won't be allowed to sleep in a bed for two days, do you understand you rotten girl? There is space in the cellar for you to sleep in; you should know that place very well by now. You should just count your lucky stars that I'm not turning you into stone! Now get up, get dressed and make sure that you at least have lunch on the table you rotten child!" evil step mother Evergreen stomped out of the room in a huff as Levy sat on her bed still dazed from the whole entire encounter. Levy sniffled slightly before she reached up to her face with the tips of her fingers and realized that she had been crying. Anyone irrationally yelling at her was one of the few things that Levy couldn't take very well.

The first thing she muttered coherently was "Gajeel?" as she looked around the room to locate him. He wasn't in the near vicinity. That only made the unexplained tears flow even more.

Slowly Levy tumbled off of the bed and changed out of her nightclothes into the only other dress in the room. Considering that Evergreen had just said that she 'clothed' Levy, Levy could tell that she wasn't very much liked though that was probably already a given. The dress was in tatters and she was sure that it was also much too small for her. For once Levy thought that her chest was much too big as the collar of the dress tore some more from the force of her simply putting it on. 'No matter,' Levy thought as she wiped at the tears with her arm. 'Just wear the dress and get out of here.'

Evergreen was scary when she simply stared at you. She was down right terrifying when she was actually yelling at you. Kudos to Elfman.

The moment that Levy stepped out of her room she saw that a bucket and a mop had already been placed at the entrance with a tacky little sticky note to accompany the supplies. 'You don't need more than an hour to cook; go clean the top two floors of the house!'

"Hm," Levy pouted as she took the mop and picked up the bucket. Just a little ways away was the landing and that was where Levy realized that the whole entire house consisted of just two floors. Two very large floors considering that the front foyer was half the size of Fairy Tail. "I don't like this."

"Oh is poor Cinder Levy sad?" a voice murmured into her ear.

Levy jumped as she turned around to face Cana in the tackiest dress that she had ever seen. It was an ornate, sparkle covered, brown dress, with two large black strips racing across it under Cana's bust and somewhere close to her knees. If anything Cana looked like she was wearing a sparkling keg. The woman had an eyebrow raised up to her hairline and a condescending smirk on her face. "Cana…"

"Cana-sama to you," the evil stepsister grinned, "I'm going to tell mother that you're not happy with everything that we give you. Maybe then she'll finally boot you out of this house you little pest or make you a very… permanent fixture."

Levy thought that mean didn't suit Cana very well. "Ah, ah! Don't tell um… er… mother that! I'm sorry. I'll get to work right away."

Cana smirked again, "I thought so. I expect you to clean up my room as well. Please do all of the laundry and pick up the garbage while you're at it! Oh and don't forget to restock the liquor!" The woman walked away with a swing of her hips. Only then did Levy notice the bottle of whiskey in the evil woman's hand.

Levy groaned as she leaned on the top of her broom and cursed the world for putting her into this particular fairy tale. If Beauty and the Beast had been one of her childhood favorites, Cinderella was her childhood hate. Meeting the perfect man was not a good trade up for more than a decade of abuse and hell. No woman should have to think that getting married was her only option of escape. And then Levy snorted as she imagined that the Prince Charming was probably Gajeel. "There aren't really any other male roles in this particular tale anyways," Levy murmured as she set the bucket down on the ground and began to work on the top floor with lethargic movements.

"You know, it's not like Cinderella is the only servant in this gigantic house."

"I could have been fooled," Levy smiled as she didn't look at the man that she knew was standing behind her. She continued to push the mop across the floor with a shake of her hips.

"I can't believe that you're actually listening to that bitch. I don't like the fact that she's making you clean this entire place by yourself."

"She already took my bed away for two nights. I don't know what I'm going to do about that. When is the prince's ball?"

"Tomorrow night I gather," Gajeel murmured as he absent mindedly turned his eyes down to her sway.

"Then what does having breakfast today have anything to do with being early for the ball tomorrow?"

"You tell me. This whole entire household is made of women logic and I'm starting to feel like I don't belong."

Levy giggled and straightened up, "Well you don't have to worry Gajeel. Us women don't particularly expect men to…" she turned around and then burst into a fit of giggles as she began to slap her knee and beg for air. Giggling was a nice way of saying it. Levy was snorting like she was back in the Three Little Pigs.

Gajeel glared at her with crossed arms noting that she was not even fearing for her life as she dropped to her knees and began to cry from laughter. "Oi, it isn't that funny!"

"Oh wow, oh wow!" Levy cried as she slammed her fist on the floor and continued to laugh.

"Hey you know that I can tell on you right?" Gajeel growled.

"I'll lose a bed and all three meals any day for a sight like this," Levy laughed, "I didn't think… wow this spell is one strong, crazy mess of magic isn't it?"

"Stop laughing!" Gajeel boomed as he picked her up by the back of her tattered dress and set her back on her feet quickly while trying to not accidently stare at her cleavage that he had accidently gotten an eye full of when he had only intended to scare her into silence by hefting her far off the floor.

"But Gajeel! You make such a voluptuous woman!" And Gajeel could no longer hope to stop her from battering up her insides as she dared to stare at _his_ cleavage and even at one point poke his breast with a curious index finger. "They're real! They're real!"

"Bookworm," Gajeel hissed through his teeth as she suddenly squeezed. He tried to make his mind go blank but if this was how Levy would feel if he… blank. He imagined Lily killing him.

"And yet your voice is still the same!" She was now trying to feel up his neck to search for his usually prominent Adam's apple.

"Bookworm…"

"Oh wow, I think you're more beautiful than me! You're going to definitely get the prince tomorrow night you… no wonder Evergreen called you a fairy!"

And then Gajeel picked her off the ground again and stuck her under his arm as he carried her back to his bedroom. Levy squirmed and laughed all the way as she couldn't help but do. She had gone on to poke at his hips. "No one is more beautiful than you."

Levy stopped laughing and began to wiggle like mad, trying to get out of grip so that she could look into his eyes. "What?"

"I mean that idiot lightning prince called you pretty… what an ass… you're five hundred times more beautiful than just fucking _pretty_…"

"What?"

"Nothing, now get out of those rags and get changed into one of my… dresses."

"Pft!"

"Why don't the women in this story ever wear pants?"

"Try the very back of your closet," Levy grinned, "Though this probably means that your character is supposed to be all showy and well…" Levy made a gesture with both of her palms and winked, "Boing!"

"Oh stuff it!" Gajeel finally exploded as he crawled into his closet to find the elusive pair of pants and not have to look Levy in the eye any longer.

"And your hips! I'm so jealous of your hips. I'm small like you said so it wouldn't be proportionally correct to go boing and have those kind of hips but a girl can still dream."

"You don't need either of those two things," Gajeel grunted. "You're perfect the way you are. What is it with women and wanting to be everything they're not no matter how freaking gorgeous they are?"

"Did you just call me gorgeous?"

Gajeel snorted and sniffed before he loudly shouted, "No!" into his closet full of clothes.

He smacked his head on the roof when Levy gently touched him on the small of his back, "Thank you."

"You're saying that an awful lot."

"I mean it."

Gajeel blushed, "Whatever. Ah HA, pants!"

"You sound like Gray."

"Don't compare me to the stripper."

"Guys don't like to be compared do they?"

"Are you really discussing this with me? I might have the body of a woman right now but I'm all, _all_ man."

Levy giggled and dawdled, "Sorry. I mean obviously girls see breasts and then they must have girl talk. It's ingrained into our beings."

"Don't make fun of me."

"This is just how I talk to all my friends."

"Friends?"

"What did you think we were?"

Gajeel snorted, "Something less."

"Nah," Levy grinned, "Nothing less." Her heart fluttered helpless in her chest as she stared at his butt, "Nothing less at all."

"Look away as I get dressed."

"Gajeel, we're both women," Levy grinned.

"Turn around now," Gajeel hissed.

Levy snorted in laughter as she obliged his wish and turned around. "You do realize that you can just slip a pair of pants on while still wearing a dress right?"

"Woman's clothing is ridiculous," Gajeel sulked.

"Find a shirt yet?"

"I really do feel like I'm the stripper."

"I was the one who called it," Levy sang.

"Here bookworm."

"Huh?" Levy asked as she felt a pile of fabric drop on her head. She pulled it off of her hair and stared at the light yellow outfit. "You want me to wear this?"

"I'm turned the other way."

"Why yellow?"

And if Levy could have seen Gajeel's face she would have noticed his blush, "Meh, just thought that you had looked good in yellow in Beauty and the Beast."

"Really?" Levy asked. Gajeel grunted as he continued to stare at the back of his closet as though his life depended on it. "Maybe I should wear yellow more often then." Though she did have to say, the yellow dress that Gajeel had given her wasn't the nicest shade of yellow that ever existed. He liked yellow, he just wasn't one to realize there were nice looking shades and awful looking shades.

Gajeel tried not to think about that comment for anymore than it was worth as he let out a small cough. He could hear the rustle of her taking off that tattered and showy dress and then he could hear her murmur as she slipped the new one over her head anyways. When she sighed and huffed Gajeel raised his eyebrow in questions. "What's wrong bookworm?"

"Turn around and see for yourself."

Gajeel slowly turned, half expecting her to not be clothed and confused about whether he was glad or disappointed when she was. However, it was obvious where her dissatisfaction came from and he took his turn to snort in amusement. Levy simply glared at him with her big eyes. "Well... that's a total change from before."

"Laugh if you want."

Gajeel snickered, "I'm not laughing. Not at all."

Levy sulked as she pulled at the massive hang of fabric that was sitting right where her breasts were supposed to be. Her breasts were there of course, but with the way the dress was sitting on her it was like she was not only flat but also concave; neither of which were at all true. She was sure… hoped. "This looks silly!" Levy started pulling at the loose fabric around her hips and then kicking her legs up to show him how long of a train she would have simply walking around with the dress on.

"I think it works for the most part. Don't be picky, you won't be leaving this room for a while anyways."

Levy's head snapped up as she stared at Gajeel oddly. "What?"

"You're staying in this room until tomorrow night."

"What?"

"If you leave, those rotten old ladies will attack you. They won't think to look for you in here, especially if I put on a show about how much I…" Gajeel actually cringed at this point, "…hate… you…"

"You hate me?" Levy teased. Gajeel simply gurgled slightly in frustration and Levy cackled slightly before she shook her head and nodded. "You do realize though that to do that… you're gonna have to act like an evil step sister… right?"

"I've had harder tasks…"

"Really?"

"I'll think of one eventually."

"Pft," Levy snorted as she shifted and went to sit down on Gajeel's bed. "This is so much nicer than mine."

"You should be happy that you even woke up in one. I was worried that I was going to find you freezing on some cot somewhere in the cellars."

"That is apparently where I'm supposed to be sleeping tonight."

"Stay here."

"You know Gajeel, as rich and dazzling as you are," Levy mocked, "You don't have a couch in your room and I just know that evil step mother Evergreen or evil step sister Cana will suspect something if you sleep outside."

"I can sleep on the floor bookworm."

"With a bed this big here?"

Gajeel bit down hard on his tongue. Wasn't it just two fairy tales ago that she had issues sleeping just in the same household as him? "Yes. I'm not going to let you take the floor."

Levy laughed, "The bed is big enough for the two of us you know."

Gajeel literally whacked himself on the forehead with the palm of his hand and rubbed his face in frustration, "Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"Hm?"

"Really? Nothing is coming to mind at all?" Gajeel bellowed desperately as he resisted the urge to pull at his hair.

"I've slept in the same bed as Jet and Droy before…" Gajeel added two new names onto his list of people to murder, "And besides that Gajeel… we're both girls." Levy smirked. Gajeel realized in that very moment that Levy was not spared from the legion of evil Fairy Tail women. She could not be this innocent. He couldn't believe that she was _this_ twisted. Gajeel glared at her as she blinked at him innocently, the smirk having just been a shadow on her lips. Hope was some crazy beast Gajeel concluded with a sneer.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't stop me from still…"

"Also there's the fact that you're sleeping with—" Gajeel choked, "_me_. It's not like I'm Lu-chan or something." Levy grabbed at the hanging fabric of her dress to make her point.

"Are you daft woman?" Gajeel shouted as he marched up to where she was sitting and shook her shoulders like a man with a mission.

Levy squealed in protest as her hands went up to grab onto his wrists, "Gajeel! What's wrong? Hey Gajeel!"

"You… you… you…"

"What?" Levy squeaked as he pushed her back on the bed and leaned over her, his female, yet Gajeel like body, hovering over her as he heaved.

"I never…" Gajeel sighed and clenched his fists, "I never know what to do with you." Gajeel grunted as he leaned in closer to her and rested his forehead against hers before sliding his skin against her skin so that his nose tickled the junction of her neck and shoulder. "You confound me bookworm." For moment there was stillness as Levy's eyes drifted so that she was looking at his red ears and watching the rise and fall of his chest as he simply stayed where he was.

She felt him breath against her with low warm breaths and wondered if he would question why her heart was beating so fast. If he did, she wouldn't know the answer. "Huh?"

"Figure it out yourself shorty. Actually no, it would be better if you never know. I'm going to go make a scene." And with that simple statement Gajeel lifted himself away from her, all indication of a blush gone, and left the room with a slamming of his door.

A couple hours later when Gajeel returned back to his room after having told Cana off more times than he could count and making a fuss about how Cinder Levy had run away while acting out the whole entire angry woman bit, courtesy of his memories of the barmaid, Gajeel was shocked to find that Levy hadn't moved from her spot on the bed and instead had diligently just fallen asleep. After all of that, she had just upped and fallen asleep. He wanted to bang his head on something hard. Closing the door softly behind him Gajeel inched his way closer to the sleeping girl and gently manipulated her so that her feet were no longer hanging off the mattress. He stared at her wondering what he should do. He knew that he should have done one thing… but he wanted to do something else so much more. And then he stayed sitting beside her, simply cross-legged on the bed, his hand in hers and continued to stare at her. He knew that he was submitting to his wants much too much.

Gajeel also knew that he was probably being the biggest creep there ever was, but he couldn't help it. Levy just looked so absolutely at peace when she was asleep and he had never seen her as such until he had woken up in Sleeping Beauty to find her in a coma. Slowly he reached out to brush away stray strands of hair from her face and then his eyes were drawn to her lips.

The sensation that Gajeel felt, had been feeling, whenever he saw her lips was none like he had ever experienced before. He had never thought, never mind wanted to kiss anyone before, not even Pantherlily although his little cat always managed to coddle hugs out of him easily. But here Gajeel Redfox… _wanted_ to kiss a girl and turn into a romantic mush and forget about everything that he had ever known about himself. It was absurd, it was disgusting and yet he felt like he was the luckiest man on earth now knowing that he had had the chance to meet this little, blue haired bookworm and that above all else… she now wasn't scared of him. It was more than he thought he deserved; it was more than he thought he would ever have.

Gajeel clenched his free hand as he continued to look at her. He wanted more… but he knew… knew that he couldn't.

For the rest of the night Gajeel forwent sleep in order to simply just watch over her as she mumbled and tossed happily in her sleep, something that she hadn't been able to do when she had been comatose in Sleeping Beauty. At one point she had grabbed onto his hand in return instead of the blanket and Gajeel simply lay back on the headboard and held her tiny fingers tightly in his palm.

Just a little touch… just a little touch wouldn't hurt.

When the sun rose the next morning Levy woke up to a warm hand and a blanket over her shoulders. She blinked blearily as she lifted her head to find that she couldn't lift the warm hand and the thing that was weighing it down was sleeping peacefully beside her. Levy blinked as she stared at him. Even with the body of a woman Gajeel still carried the same air around him that he always did and a part of her wondered if she would care if he stayed this way forever. She believed not… but then she questioned, why she was feeling this way in the first place? Why was her heart fluttering?

She stared at him while propped up on her elbow for a little while more, but then the sun touched his cheeks and slowly the man let go of her fingers, grumbled and rubbed at his eyes like she had seen Pantherlily do on multiple occasions. Levy smiled serenely at the image before she jabbed him in the rib. "Oi… what was that for?" Gajeel mumbled sleepily.

"Did you figure out who Prince Charming was last night?"

Gajeel frowned, "This was not what I was expecting to hear first thing in the morning."

Levy laughed, "Good morning Gajeel."

Gajeel's cheeks blazed suddenly and without his consent as he realized utterly quickly that he wanted to hear that phrase coming from her lips every single morning for the rest of his life. It was amazing how at the start of this whole entire mess, Gajeel had been content with a simple wave from her every single time she left the library.

He needed to get his mind out of the gutter. "The demon's boytoy."

"Huh?"

"The fucking Prince is the green haired ass who trapped us in all those runes. You know? The guy from the Raijinshuu; he has a thing going on with the barmaid… boytoy?"

"I know who Fried is Gajeel. It's not like I can forget who Fried is," Levy snipped as she tapped her chin. "If Prince Charming is Fried then maybe we can play this fairy tale out properly."

"What?" Gajeel growled with narrowed eyes.

"I don't mind him that much. I don't even think that Cinderella even kisses the prince in the fairy tail so it would just involve a little of dancing and…"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I refuse."

"What? Why?"

"The fairy tale is already messed up anyways, you don't need to run off to find your stupid Prince Charming. Charming… bull shit to the Charming. Maybe his name isn't Charming… oh what the hell."

"This is why you weren't put in the role of the fairy godmother isn't it?"

"Damn the fairy god mother, I'll make sure she doesn't show up just so that you don't have to go to the ball."

"What's so wrong with me going to the ball?"

"Everything!"

"Everything?"

"Every fucking thing."

"Hey, at least I like Fried."

"Exactly!"

"What?"

"You like him," Gajeel sneered, "You might end up liking him enough to…" And then he was whacked over the head with her little fist.

"Gajeel! Shut up! It's to get both of us out of this dumb fairy tale without you getting hurt again."

"I'd rather get hurt than watch you go out and dance with that guy and anyways… that deduction of yours was crap logic and you know it."

"What? Why? That's stupid! It's just dancing."

"It is not stupid," Gajeel shouted as he jumped off the bed and pointed at her, "It's also not just dancing. It's dancing with Fried, the guy that was apart of trapping all of us in Fantasia." The guy that had so much in common with Levy, magic and common interest wise, that Gajeel feared for every moment that they spent less than five meters from each other. Also… Levy hadn't danced with him yet.

"You pinned me to a bloody tree!"

Gajeel was silenced for a second as guilt swam into Levy's eyes like pools of crystals and now Gajeel felt like he had to say anything, do anything to just make her stop looking like that. "Well I'm an evil bastard down to the core, he's just… he's just…" Gajeel wasn't very good at comforting people what so ever.

Levy opened her mouth to retort at his absurd statement but before she could she was enveloped in a glowing green light and very, very suddenly she was no longer in Gajeel's bedroom.

Levy was sitting in a magical carriage and being hefted away to the castle. The last thing she had seen and heard was Gajeel dive for her but had instead smashed his head into the bedpost when she had turned into fairy dust. "Away to the castle Cinder Levy?" Bickslow sang from the driver's seat as she heard the shrill giggle of the soul dolls that always followed him around.

"You… cannot seriously be the fairy god… father…"

"I grant all your wishes," Bickslow grinned merrily, "Whether you actually wish them or not."

"Wasn't that a little bit forceful? I was trying to not get him hurt you jerk and now look what's happened. He's going to have another welt in the center of his forehead and why…" Levy finally realized, "Why is it that Gajeel can eat metal and yet get so beat up by non threatening wooden object? Is it just his constitution?"

"She wouldn't remove himself from your side for the whole entire night, it was most inconvenient and people who make things inconvenient pay the price. And metal, your sister eats metal? Well that would explain why she is always such a bitch."

"She's a bitch!"

"What a bitch!" his dolls sang.

"If only that would explain everything," Levy mumbled, realizing that Fairy Bickslow probably thought she was crazy for speaking of eating metal. Levy crossed her arms and then looked down at her sparkling, light blue Cinder Levy dress. She kind of rued at the fact that it wasn't yellow. She was sure that Gajeel would have liked it more the moment that he managed to track her down, which she was sure that he would do in no time. Bickslow probably would have chosen a better shade too.

Levy watched as the landscape passed her by and heard Bickslow talking to his little dolls, which she realized stood in for the horses. Levy frowned at the night sky wondering if she would see Gajeel's shadow chasing after her soon. He was sure taking his sweet time. But within moments, the dark country scape turned into the courtyard of a large castle and the carriage pulled to a stop with the loud giggling of the horses. Bickslow opened the door for her and held out a hand so that she could climb down in her ridiculously high heels. She was sure that even with them on she still wouldn't be able to reach Gajeel's chin. "Remember that the magic fades at midnight Cinder Levy."

"Hm," Levy hummed as she looked at the grand staircase before her. She was sure that at midnight this was where she was going to drop her shoes. Those steps would be impossible to run down on with these heels without killing herself in an incredibly messy and bloody fashion.

Levy shrieked when suddenly she wasn't as the bottom of the steps anymore but was right in front of Fried as he stared at her with wide eyes and his most charming smile plastered on his face. Levy knew for a fact that this particular smile was only supposed to be directed at Mirajane with certain intentions behind it so the fact that Prince Fried was staring at her like that was almost like she was cheating with him on her Fairy Tail friend. She had never felt so awkward in all her life. "Hi?" Levy chirped convincingly. Not. She almost flinched at the flimsiness of her own voice.

"You are beautiful." Wow… this fairy tale was really rushing the process along, wasn't it? Maybe it was trying to counter Gajeel's meddling ways? Could these forms of magic even adapt anyways?

Levy cringed, "Thank you?" It was almost odd when someone other than Gajeel said those words.

"Dance with me."

"Did you even ask for my name yet? Oh dear… Prince Charming never really did ask for her name in the original story did he?" Levy blanched as she heard the first toll of the midnight chimes. She was glad for the rushing… she really didn't want to have Prince Fried smiling at her like that anymore. As much as she did like Fried… this was a totally different like, one that she was not comfortable with.

As Levy prepared to turn around and bolt she heard a crash behind her as the grand doors to the ballroom were knocked clean off of their hinges. There was Gajeel in all his womanly glory huffing and puffing as he glared at Fried with so much venom that Levy could never understand why. "Gajeel?"

"The fairy tale didn't want me to interfere, but when was the last time that I listened to the fucking rules," Gajeel growled out as he rushed at Levy and picked her off the ground and threw her over his shoulder. Levy squealed as she grabbed Gajeel's neck for balance. There was blood running out from his hairline and the warm liquid nearly soaked Levy's fingers. If Fried was charming then Gajeel at the moment was being everything but by treating her like a sack of potatoes.

Then Levy felt yanking on her feet and watched as Gajeel threw her shoes at Prince Fried, nailing him in the forehead with the heels, and growled, "You take your damn shoes, I get the damn girl!" And with that Gajeel ran and ran, racing back out of the ball room and then toward the stairs that she knew would have been her ultimate doom if Gajeel wasn't here with her right now.

When the world burst into sparks and Gajeel continued to hold onto her tight Levy realized that from the moment that she had split up from Gajeel, all she had been able to think about was him and even when she was with him, his whole entire presence surrounded her. Her heart lurched painfully as she felt like they were free falling through the air before they tumbled.

Levy didn't mind that he wasn't charming… she didn't even mind that he was currently still a woman. He was still _Gajeel_.

Levy finally realized what it all meant.

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><p><strong>Extra: Gajeel on reading Cinderella<strong>

"Charming…" Gajeel mumbled… "Charming!"

"What in all names are you going on about?" Lily muttered as he was rudely woken up from his nap on Gajeel's chest. Lily rolled over onto his stomach and stared up at the bottom of Gajeel's chin as the man continued to scan through the book he was reading.

"Charming…" Gajeel continued to mumble.

"I know that Levy is, but you're too thick headedly stupid to notice that particular attribute. So… explain."

"Have you ever known a person named Charming?"

"No."

"I knew it," Gajeel growled, "This is stupid! Absurd!"

"You're making a very big deal out of something that is obviously very small."

"Why the fuck is his name Charming?"

"Ah… you're talking about the prince…"

"Prince fucking Charming! That's disgusting. Who needs a charming prince?"

"Hopefully not Levy because you're anything but."

"Cram it kitty."

Lily head butted Gajeel on his chin before climbing to sit on his partner's shoulder. Lily did _not_ like to be called_ kitty_. He was a warrior, proud and well… since his partner couldn't pull of charming… Lily grinned; Pantherlily was charming. At least Mirajane thought so. But then again Mirajane had to think he was charming since he was giving her the inside secrets to the mind of Gajeel. Lily couldn't wait until the day that Gajeel found out.

Actually Lily thought it was pretty dumb of his partner not to have figured it out yet. Then again his partner's dumb head was usually filled with one thing. Love… either for Lily or for Levy. Who would have thought, right? What a sap.

Oh well… Gajeel's loss; Lily's gain. Gajeel would love him to bits in the end of it anyways because again… all he had in his head was love. "So again, why do you have such a huge problem with a guy named Charming?"

Gajeel huffed as he stared at the pages, "The asshole comes out of no where and gets the girl and suddenly its all sunshine and roses."

"Sunshine and roses?" Lily scoffed fairly amused.

"Fucking sunshine and fucking roses. The guy just dances with her and then she's in love with him and it's all happily ever after… and a shoe! What the fuck is wrong with this girl's foot?"

"You're scared that some Charming is going to just waltz into Levy's life and steal her away in an instant aren't you? And the foot… I don't even know what to say about the foot."

Gajeel went silent as he peaked down at the blue haired girl working away on her research like always. Levy had delicate and small feet… just like Cinderella… what if…

Pantherlily sighed, "Then make your move."

"I can't do that."

"Gajeel…"

"You know I can't do that Lily."

"Then you're going to have to accept the fact that someday she might belong to someone else."

"Belong?" Gajeel growled.

"Not what I meant. Don't take it so literally."

"Levy is never going to _belong_ to anyone but herself!"

"I am starting to think that this reading books thing is making you smart in the worst ways possible," Lily sighed as he rested his head on Gajeel's temple, "Again not what I meant."

"And definitely not to anyone named Charming!"

"Well if that's how you're going to hunt down her potential suitors, we are going to have no problems."

Lily chuckled as Gajeel continued to hopelessly fume at the fictional Prince. What a childish boy.

Now don't think just because Lily was telling Mirajane everything that she needed to know meant that Lily didn't hold Gajeel far above everyone else. Lily didn't say it out loud, but he probably loved Gajeel as much as Gajeel loved him. Lily only did what he did because he was actually smart. No one needed to know that he was pulling the strings behind the whole entire fiasco. That and he knew that Mirajane was never wrong when it came to match making.

All Lily wanted was for Gajeel and Levy to be happy… together.

"Prince Charming probably also has a small dick!"

Lily whacked Gajeel on the forehead with his paw and watched as a red lump grew. Though sometimes Pantherlily kind of felt sorry for what he was getting Levy into.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Time on The Fairy's Tale<strong>

Sadly Gajeel didn't very much understand the language of… whatever bird she was and still continued to point the arrow at her although it seemed like he was only just realizing what he was doing as well. "Why the hell am I even hunting a swan? Swans don't even taste good," Gajeel grumbled as he looked just as confused as she was at why he was pointing a bow at a bird.

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><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

Cosmic irony Gajeel. You might think that Prince Charming (I'm so sorry Fried... I'm sure he wasn't thinking of you... you poor man at the short end of the stick...uh... you know what?... nevermind) has a small dick... but this is the one fairy tale where you have no dick... pft. Sorry for the crude language :p

Also... "Happy" and "Together" are two words that are so hard for me to put beside each other... it always makes me think of the Turtles song. All hail the Turtles song...

Also... all hail the most recent chapter of Fairy Tail. Is it just me or was it that the only thing I paid attention to during the whole chapter was the fact that Levy was practically glued to Gajeel LOL? Loved itttt.

Also one last thing... shameless plug for a fund raiser that I'm holding... if you have time or whatever, please check out this blog. kiminecuadormay2012 on blogspot : D Leave some comments about fund raising suggestions etc etc. Love you all!

Haha I'm going to shut up now. I hope you all enjoyed!


	7. The Sixth Fairy's Tale

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

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><p><strong>The Sixth Fairy's Tale<strong>

When Levy realized what was going on once again and the world of glitter and stars had disappeared from all around her, she crossed her eyes and simply stared at the sharp arrow point that was pitted right against her nose. The odd thing was that she didn't even particularly have a nose. The arrow was pointed at her… bill? She would go with that one. Slowly… as not to rile up the person holding the weapon down at her face, she traced her eyes up the shaft of the arrow and to the person on the other side of the bow. "Goodness gracious Gajeel!" Levy squawked, "Get that out of my face!"

Sadly Gajeel didn't very much understand the language of… whatever bird she was and still continued to point the arrow at her although it seemed like he was only just realizing what he was doing as well. "Why the hell am I even hunting a swan? Swans don't even taste good," Gajeel grumbled as he looked just as confused as she was at why he was pointing a bow at a bird.

It clicked in Levy's mind instantly what story this was and with a wave of her large white wings Levy flew backward across the water of the lake that she knew she called home and stretched her neck up to the sky. "Dusk…" she sighed happily as the moonbeams began to shine brighter than the setting sun.

Gajeel blinked at the bird in front of him and lowered his weapon with a raise of his eyebrow, "What the hell is wrong with you birdie? Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you. Swan tastes like shit anyways."

Levy's head snapped back to him and stared, "You've eaten swan?"

"Are you trying to talk to me?" Gajeel quirked as he began to back away from the water's edge, "You have some kind of creepy glare there birdie." Levy watched him as he looked around and then he sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, "Can't smell her, fuck, and I made sure to hold on tightly too."

Levy tilted her head, honked loudly and Gajeel stared at her. "I'm looking for my… friend…"

If Levy had had the capability to smile she would have at that statement. They were friends. Now she knew that she wanted _more_. Levy had never known that she was such a greedy person. She stared as he continued to sniff the air, back in his masculine body and couldn't help but let her smile spread. Only a slight thought ran through her mind that swans that smiled looked terrifying.

"Do you actually understand me? Are you fucking grinning? Stop that! That's creepy shit…"

Levy nodded her long neck as she pointed her beak at the moon. Gajeel looked up at where she had gestured and in that moment, in his peripheral vision, he could see the swirling of white light and the droplets of water reflecting all the brilliance as they drifted from the surface of the lake and mingled with the light. When the light dimmed down and the water sprayed in arcs to land back in the lake, Gajeel took his eyes off the moon and his eye twitched. "Hi Gajeel," Levy smiled sheepishly as she tip toed out of the water and marveled at the fact that her silky, white dress and dainty shoes weren't wet. "Good to know you think my smile is creepy."

"What the fuck is this story? You just turned from a swan into a human, damn it! And…" Gajeel seemed to falter, "Your smile… the bird's… well… _your_ smile is nice."

"Well last time you were a man turned shrill woman," Levy chortled, "And… _nice_ Gajeel?"

"Never speak of that again."

"You've never read Swan Lake? Well watched it… read it… both… whatever…"

"I don't read things about swans," Gajeel grunted. It had been next on his list of things to read while stalking Levy.

"Well until… a day? Two days? Three… well whatever, ago I didn't even think that you read at all so…"

"Whatever," Gajeel sulked as he plopped down on the ground. "So tell me what this whole entire story is about bookworm."

Levy crossed her arms, tapped her foot and stared at him for a good long moment before she shook her head, "No."

Gajeel looked back up at her with steely eyes, "No?"

"I'm not going to let you mess this up and get hurt."

"I barely even got hurt last time," Gajeel grunted, "How many times do I have to tell you that your logic is crap?"

"You ran your head into a bed post," Levy remarked as she took a seat beside him on the ground, "And then somewhere between the house and the castle you were attacked by something…" Gajeel narrowed his eyes as he remembered the stupid giggling puppets that Fairy God Father Bickslow had attacked him with, "So that counts as getting hurt." Levy then peaked at the back of his neck and hummed at the absence of blood.

"I run my head into bed posts all the time," Gajeel muttered weakly, "And you know how much of an affinity I have for being attacked by people."

"What?" Levy giggled.

"Ask Lily, he'll attest to the bed post thing. It's his fault anyways."

"Blaming your cat now?"

"Che," Gajeel scoffed as he looked away from her and flushed ever so slightly.

"I've never seen you blush so much before Gajeel."

Gajeel looked back at her and seemed to contemplate something before he seemed resigned and with a hard smile he said, "You've never been around me this much before."

Levy blinked, "True… I can't seem to recall why now," Levy looked up at him through her lashes, "I can't recall why at all."

Gajeel grunted and ignored her alluring stare (actually he didn't have to ignore it, he was too daft to notice it), "I can, I'm sure your two little teammates can too. I'm actually pretty sure that the whole entire guild can recall."

"Gajeel," Levy sighed as she shoved him with her shoulder. He didn't budge an inch so Levy continued to tilt back and forth simply enjoying the feeling of bouncing off his arm, "That isn't what I meant. Forgetting the past is totally different from forgiving the past and already long ago," Levy smiled as she clutched at the fabric of her dress that was sitting over her heart and let out a long breath, "And it already seems like a part of me had already forgiven you long ago." How stupid could she have been by not knowing what that hammer in her heart had been?

"This is why people like you are so complicated," Gajeel complained, "Why can a part of you feel something different from the rest of you? Aren't you all one person bookworm?"

Levy simply smiled, "I'm sure that you have parts of you too. It's as simple as two conflicting emotions or doing something that you know you shouldn't do." She peaked up at him through her eyelashes. Slowly Levy was trying to piece together all the hints of the last several days. A part of her had always suspected that there was something more about Gajeel… but now that her heart was on the line she didn't believe that jumping to any kind of conclusion would be safe for her.

Gajeel stared at her as she stared at him, "Ah… maybe." Levy's brown eyes, Levy's blue hair, Levy's short stature, Levy's intelligence, Levy's dedication, Levy's smile, Levy's laugh… Levy's everything. He had two parts of himself for everything that was Levy… so maybe he really did get it.

Lily would have laughed at the fact that Gajeel was even considering the fact that he was complicated. Gajeel was simple… he wanted her but he didn't think he deserved her. Lily constantly told Gajeel that he wasn't suited to be a mopey idiot. "So maybe that doesn't make you complicated," Gajeel snorted.

Levy laughed, "Maybe. I don't think anyone is complicated particularly; it's more about learning to understand ones self."

"You're talking like you've just received enlightenment bookworm."

Levy grinned a secretive grin, "Maybe I have." She put more force into her arm bouncing.

"Can't imagine something that you would know now that you didn't know already."

"Who ever said that I didn't know it before?"

"You make no fucking sense."

"I make all the sense." Levy laughed and continued to bounce. Gajeel twitched with annoyance as he finally reacted and grabbed her waist so that she would just stop.

Levy's eyes widened, as did Gajeel's as he realized that 'Holy hell! I'm _hugging_ her! I'm hugging Levy!' Little Gajeel's were practically screaming in his head and one or two of them were even running through meadows of flowers with rainbows hanging overhead.

He shook himself out of his stupor as he turned his stunned eyes to the girl beside him not knowing what to do with himself now that he had gotten into this catastrophic situation.

Before Gajeel could decide to remove his hand Levy slapped her own over his and entwined her fingers with his in order to keep his grip there. She smiled up innocently at him as Gajeel shook in decision. What the hell was he supposed to do now? If he had been baffled before now he was stunned.

Gajeel snorted as he bent one knee up and rested his elbow on the knee trying to look non-chalant and failing quite miserably when his elbow slipped off his knee and he lurched to the side destroying all chances of hiding the mistake from Levy. He blushed as he tried again while Levy snickered under her breath.

"S-so at least tell me… why the hell were you a honking, over sized pigeon?" It was a safe topic… anything to stop thinking about the fact that not only was he hugging her… but they were holding hands. Gajeel wanted to cry, if that didn't make him a total wuss and at the same time… what the hell was the bookworm thinking? The little Gajeel's were once again screaming.

"You can compare a swan to a pigeon?"

Gajeel wanted to spout out a cornier line, but he knew that he had to stop before she figured him out (or he made an even bigger fool of himself). "Birds, they have feathers and they fly. Whatever."

"Pft," Levy sniggered and covered her face with both her hands to try and hold back her laugh, "You break my heart Gajeel." He saw an opening and quickly retracted his hand. As much as he had always wanted to touch her, this was way too much way too soon. His nerves couldn't handle it and he was still confused at shit.

Gajeel sniffed slightly, "Come on shorty, at least give me the back story."

Levy hummed as she leaned forward and touched her toes. "I was cursed by an evil mage to turn into a swan when the moon is not in the sky. You like hunting swans, _not_ eating swans. You try to hunt me. As you're about to shoot me the moon rises and well… what happened to us happens. That's the basics, if I say anymore you might be able to guess what happens in the future."

"Let me guess, you and me fall in love," and then Gajeel choked on what he just said as he began to cough compulsively. What was he _saying_? This, _this_ right here was why Pantherlily always accompanied him everywhere.

Levy's eyes had widened as she flushed slightly and continued to stare blatantly at her toes, "Yah… the only way to break the spell is for you to say that you love me."

Gajeel choked again, "What?"

"This is going to be impossible isn't it?" Levy laughed as she leaned back on her hands and smiled at the stars knowingly. Levy was having her little bit of fun.

"Wait… an evil curse and I don't even have to kiss you to break the spell?" Gajeel's eyes widened… how had he managed to keep a straight face in Sleeping Beauty? Right now he could barely keep his eyes off her lips and _shit_ he needed something ugly to look at… like the Salamander for example.

"Do you want to kiss me Gajeel?" Levy asked as she tilted her head towards him and stared at his narrowed garnet eyes with her own earth toned ones.

Gajeel managed to splutter a little bit before Levy laughed at him again. He could have sworn that just one story earlier she had been doing these things not on purpose and now it actually seemed like she was trying to string him along or figure something out. No evil was greater than the evil that was women planning something without anyone else having knowledge. "What?" Gajeel managed to spit out in order to regain his lost dignity. He only managed to lose more.

"Don't worry," Levy grinned, "The professing love thing is more extreme than just saying 'I love you' or something just as basic and corny."

"You think that saying … _that_ is basic?" Gajeel questioned with a twitching eye. He believed it was the most unbasic of all phrases out there. Just thinking about that phrase made his palms clam up and cause him to turn into a pubescent teenage boy, a phase that he had dutifully tried to skip. It was now coming back to bite him in the ass big time.

"Well yah. Don't you think the phrase 'I love you' has lost all meaning with time? I mean there has to be action and more eloquence than that," Levy babbled as she grinned and leaned forward again. "Anyways, back to the point. You have to profess your love in front of the world in order for the curse to break."

Gajeel went pale, "The world?"

"Yep."

"I have to say… that… in front of the world."

"Well in front of the world of a Prince… so the royal court I gather," Levy grinned, "By the way… you're name is Prince Siegfried in the original."

"That name leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Gajeel mumbled.

"Well you probably left a heel sized hole in the poor guy's head."

"He was a figment of the spell; he'll get over it eventually."

"I wonder what Fairy Tail Fried would do to you once he found out that you pounded on him with glass slippers."

"I can take that guy on."

"Mirajane might back him up."

"I might avoid that guy absolutely."

Levy giggled as she turned her head to stare at Gajeel, "Why are you so afraid of Mirajane? I know she's an S-class mage but so was Laxus and you faced him head on in Fantasia and Erza and you seem to get along fine."

"The barmaid has a different brand of terrifying attached to her," Gajeel mumbled as he looked away from Levy so that he wouldn't catch himself staring at her slender and small face.

Levy hummed again, "You know, the Princess and the Prince fell in love in this one night."

"That's stupid," Gajeel mumbled.

"I agree," Levy sighed, "One night to have two people fall madly in love is a bit crazy."

"I don't think a life time would be enough for me."

"Gajeel? In love?" Levy perked teasingly trying to pry any more hints out of him.

Gajeel swallowed again and looked away. In a deep voice, one that was obviously laced with lies, he replied, "Not that I will ever have a chance to experience that, pft." The darkness deep down swirled; he didn't deserve to experience something like that.

Levy snorted but gave him his freedom anyways. "Things happen."

And Gajeel wanted to smack himself silly. If there had been any chance of him telling her that he… loved, Gajeel blanched at just the thought, her before, there was no chance now. Why wasn't he a little bit more thoughtful in what he said. Wait… full stop… he couldn't tell her he loved her. It was wrong. What was happening to him? "Maybe," he replied. Gajeel hoped that that was a good enough save without having to be too mushy or harsh.

Levy simply laughed again as she nodded, "Maybe."

"So that's all you're giving me on this tale bookworm?"

Levy grinned, "Invite me to a ball that you are having tomorrow. It's the perfect opportunity to confess your love for me in front of the world."

"How stupidly convenient."

"Life is pretty convenient, I mean the mere idea of you loving someone and that person loving you back is pretty convenient." Levy stared at him again.

Gajeel's eyes narrowed as he believed he imagined a Mirajane level smirk pass over Levy's lips. "No…"

"Hm?"

"Whatever."

"Nice answer."

"Shut up shorty."

Levy laughed as she began to bounce off him arm again as they continued to simply sit comfortably next to each other and stare at the night sky. Snippets of conversation were exchanged between the two and eventually Gajeel found himself wondering how Levy had managed to permanently place her head on his shoulder without him freaking out. Lily would have been so proud of him that damn, yet adorable, cat. Gajeel grunted and Levy hummed. "So… don't you wish sometimes, that you could know everything?" Levy asked.

"I'm sure your closer to that than I am," Gajeel grunted as he tried hard not to think so much about how Levy's hair was soft against the tough skin of his shoulder. Why in the world did the girl even think that his shoulder was even comfortable? Lily had, on multiple occasions, stated that Gajeel's arms were as hard as rock.

"Well… what I want to know is something that I know nothing of at all yet you know everything about. Well maybe nothing is not the proper word… but I'd still like to know more."

"Dragon Slayer magic?"

Levy snorted, "I know plenty about that."

"I can't imagine anything else that I would know more about than you." Levy simply shook her head at that statement and bravely flicked him on the head. "What?" Gajeel spluttered as he rubbed his head shocked at her sudden audacity.

"That."

"What?"

"I want to know what goes on in that."

"What?"

"Oh figure it out yourself," Levy sulked, "I can't believe I can't figure it out. You're as simple as Natsu."

"Hey don't compare me to someone as oblivious as the Salamander."

Levy just stared at him with one eye before she muttered under her breath, "At least he still got as far as getting together with Lu-chan."

"What does bunny girl have to do with anything?"

"You weren't supposed to hear that. Cue the muttering under breath."

"I'm a friggin Dragon Slayer, I hear things that I never want to hear."

Levy perked up as this and nearly crawled onto Gajeel's lap in utter curiosity, "What have you heard?"

"So you're a meddler too," Gajeel snorted as he patted her on the head and then not so subtly, but gently shoved her off of him.

Levy pouted as she brought out her ultimate weapon. On any average occasion one would think that this weapon would work better on Gajeel than any other Fairy Tail mage, but… it didn't. Instead what Levy got was wide eyes and a spluttered mumble that she totally and absolutely did not expect. "Wha?" Levy asked, confused at his reaction. Usually those who were subjected to her eyes either ran or gave up everything that she wanted to know. Natsu was a prime example of this. No one had ever j_ust_ spluttered.

Gajeel huffed happily as he resisted the urge to blush like a buffoon. "You've never…" he felt as stupid as shit as he slammed his face into his palms and continued to mumble, "You've never used those on me."

"I haven't?" Levy sounded absolutely bewildered by this fact. She was so sure that she had used them on everyone in Fairy Tail at one point.

"I mean I've heard of it and people run screaming from it all the time but… holy hell… I get why the Salamander becomes a total mess at that."

"Neh…"

Gajeel couldn't quite articulate that the fact that she was using this massive weapon on him made him more happy than fearful but within moments Levy did realize and she sat back on her haunches with a far off expression on her face. Gajeel coughed and peaked between his fingers not knowing if he could ever man up in front of the shorty ever again after the events of this spell.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

Levy thought for a moment and then seemed to change her mind; she shook her head and smiled at him, "Never mind."

"Spit it out bookworm."

"Nah."

Gajeel grunted in frustration and crossed his arms like a little child. If she had been anyone else other than Levy he would have bonked them over the head, but considering that this was Levy right in front of him, Gajeel felt like a puddle of useless mush. Why in all names was he not more displeased by this? That was when Gajeel got an idea and very, very quickly… flicked Levy in the forehead and sent her reeling backwards with an oddly adorable squeak. Even cuter than when Lily was caught in a thunderstorm. "Spit it out."

Levy pouted as she rubbed her forehead before she stuck out her tongue. "Time moves fast."

"What?"

"Morning is almost here, soon I'm going to be honking at you."

"Not much of a change," Gajeel retorted playfully.

Levy whacked him on the arm and poked him harshly, "So remember about the ball tomorrow night. Remember to declare you love to 'me' when 'I' show up at the ball."

"You really didn't need to restate that. It's not like that's a detail I'm going to forget."

"Oh yes I did."

"This is going to be a shitty day isn't it."

"I'm sure the fairy tale will speed through it," Levy hummed happily as she climbed to her feet, "After all, the night was the perfect length for the two of us."

Gajeel couldn't particularly agree or disagree. The night had been perfect… but he wouldn't have minded if it was just the two of them for the rest of his long, long life. "See you tomorrow night then bookworm."

Levy seemed to laugh like she knew something he didn't and nodded, "See you tomorrow night Gajeel." And with that the dawn broke over the horizon and with a swirl of water and light, his Levy had turned back into an oversized pigeon. He stared at her for a moment wondering what kind of gadget in his head made everything that was related to her cute. He was so sure that he had thought that the swan was butt ugly when he had been trying to kill it earlier on.

Levy floated on the surface of the water and watched Gajeel watch her. For some reason she felt as though there were other eyes on her though, eyes that surrounded her nearly completely as though the lake were the eyes itself. She didn't know what it could be from but she guessed it didn't matter.

Gajeel closed his eyes knowing that the world around him was fast-forwarding him away from Levy and yet all the way back to her. His whole entire life was suddenly all about her. No… not suddenly… well it had been suddenly that day months ago when he had chosen her as his target. But what was happening now had been building ever since then.

When Gajeel opened his garnet eyes again the members of Fairy Tail in a marvelous foyer surrounded him. Gajeel swallowed and nervously tugged on the sleeves of his suit feeling both anxious and incredibly stupid at the same time. He didn't know what he was going to do about this confessing his love to Levy in front of the whole world thing (much less the Fairy Tail member look a likes… he would have rather confessed to a world of strangers than to this meddling bunch). He wasn't the type to do this kind of crap and he was sure that the bookworm knew this well and was laughing at his pain and misery.

Gajeel swallowed again as he heard footsteps outside the grand doors before they were even thrown open. When the doors finally slammed against the wall, Gajeel's mouth went peculiarly dry.

The evil mage was Gildarts… and for some stupid reason the rainy, once gloomy, now crazily lovesick, stalker like mage that had joined Fairy Tail with him from Phantom Lord was dressed up all nice and acting exactly like Levy. It was seriously creepy how he knew that she was acting exactly like Levy. Gajeel only then realized how much of a stalker he was. He couldn't really complain about the rain mage in front of him, could he?

Gajeel knew that he had recognized the presence that was watching them at the lake. Of course the gloomy mage would spend her time wading around in that pond keeping her eye on the prisoner if she was part of the duo of evil…

Gajeel grunted and relaxed as he realized why the little bookworm had had that coy smile on her face that whole time she had been telling him the story; that little rascal. "You cannot be serious," Gajeel muttered under his breath as he resisted the urge to rub his temples. If the falling in love in one night thing hadn't already totally turned him off of this story, the fact that the stupid prince had confessed to the wrong lady made him want to smack himself over the head.

"Gajeel," Juvia sighed as she walked forth in the way that Levy walked (when exactly had he memorized her walk?) and took his hand with the same gentleness that Levy touched him with (and Levy had touched him… only how many times?). It was all so very, very wrong and Gajeel couldn't quite wrestle the sneer off of his face as he stared down at the water mage. His eye was twitching as Juvia looked up at him. "You must declare your undying love for Levy, Gajeel. Please break Levy's curse."

Stupid woman had retained her peculiar way of speaking and although this usually amused him because they had shared a past, this was in no way what he wanted to hear at the moment. Gajeel's eye twitched even more. Where the hell was the shorty actually at if Juvia was running around trying to be her?

Levy was flapping her wings outside the window as she tried her hardest not to feel how she was feeling. Levy wanted to sneer, something she was not usually prone to do, but it disturbed her way too much that Juvia had gotten the role of Odile. Juvia was the only woman in the real world of Fairy Tail that had known Gajeel longer than Levy had, however morbid Gajeel and Levy's first encounter had been.

Juvia just had to be the one to get Gajeel's declaration of undying love. Even worse… she had blue hair just like Levy too. It was a tiny bit of a sore spot for Levy because before Juvia and Wendy had suddenly joined the guild in less than two months, Levy had been the unique blue haired mage. Now she was _just_ a blue haired mage and she was the least special one too, S-class water mage and Sky Dragon Slayer and all.

Levy so very desperately wanted to be the one to ruin the party for once and peck out Juvia's eyes (the Swan Lake Juvia… Fairy Tale Juvia was too sweet to do that too). The stupid spell made woman was so obviously hitting on Gajeel! Levy was so busy making up words that could have been coming out of Juvia's mouth (about how Gajeel's and Juvia's pasts were shared and therefore how their futures should be shared too) that she stopped paying attention to what actually was going on.

Gildarts grinned evilly at Levy from his position in the hall of the castle and Levy had to say that that sort of look didn't match the man at all. It was kind of scary beyond belief and she made a mental note to make him cookies one day just to appease him. She kind of sucked at cooking though so that might cause the opposite effect of her intentions.

Levy looked back at Gajeel and flapped her wings in silent jealousy (still imaging horrific scenes of eye gouging) as Gajeel took both of Juvia's hands in both of his and turned to face the royal court. Levy and jealousy was not a pretty combo in the least and she thought herself entirely an idiot for not even realizing that she had even liked this man two stupid fairy tales ago.

Levy watched as Gajeel opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again and then snapped it shut. She giggled (cackled more like) as she realized that he looked like a fish out of water and she supposed this kind of situation made him feel that way. It made her feel a little bit better that at least his confession to Juvia would be as awkward as hell.

Levy wanted to slap herself for being such a mean spirited girl. Really, was this what realizing her own feelings for an Iron Dragon Slayer did to her?

Gajeel opened his mouth for the last time, looked at Juvia and then grunted loudly as he threw her hands back down to her side making the look alike fall to the ground. "Screw this shit!" Gajeel shouted as he stomped almost childishly. "I can't even tell the actual girl that I like that I love her! What the hell makes you think that I'm going to be able to tell a crappy copy of her that! You're not even a crappy copy you gloomy woman! You're nothing like the beautiful shorty!" He was crazed as he pointed and jabbed at the random people of the Fairy Tail court before he landed his finger on the Levy supposed look alike.

"Gajeel?" Levy squawked as she pressed her bird like body as close as possible to the window that she was watching him through.

"Where the hell is the real bookworm, because for the love of Fairy Tail, I love her… not you! She is the only one that can make me even contemplate confessing something as silly as love to the whole entire world; she's the only one that makes me feel this god awful way. I'm not going to tell someone else that I love them just because it's part of the fucking rules…" Gajeel pointed as the stunned Juvia again before throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, "What the hell did I just say? I can't say this shit! I take that all fucking back!"

"Thank goodness… I wanted Gray-sama anyways," Juvia cheered as she skipped over to said boy who was a part of the royal court as Gildarts roared in fury. The evil mage suddenly toppled down the front wall of the castle with a simple touch. Gajeel shouted in shock as he dodged out of the way of the evil mage's blow only to still get battered on the head with the tip of Gildart's thumb. It was pretty awful, the feeling of having your head crumble. Maybe Levy logic was making a bit of a point (not that he would ever admit it to her).

Levy wanted to burst through the glass window with all her might and just attack Gajeel (in more ways than one, that _stupid_ dunderhead). She wanted to push him to the ground and wrap her arms around his neck and make her heart beat in time with his. She was so sure that she would be the first to tell him when they got out of this whole mess but here he was, crashing not only the spell's party once again, but also hers. As Levy prepared to have a shower of glass rain over her head the world burst into flame and Levy was convinced that she was going to die as her wings disappeared and she free fell toward the ground.

Levy's eyes widened as she realized what had happened. Gajeel had broken the spell by technically confessing to the proper girl while she was around. Levy didn't know if she was glad or distressed by the fact that she was still falling even through she should have already splattered on the ground.

It was odd not having Gajeel's arm around her, Levy concluded as she closed her eyes and continued to fall even though the ground was now far above her. Did the guy even know that she had heard his confession? They had one more fairy tale to go… would she choose to tell him before it was all over or do as she had previously planned? Would the next fairy tale even let her?

* * *

><p><strong>Gajeel on reading Swan Lake… after the fact<strong>

"Bookworm!"

"What now?" Levy sighed as she lifted her head to stare at the edge of window that Gajeel was sitting on. She had chased him away when he had been distracting her from her work about five minutes ago. He had obliged with many grumbles considering that Pantherlily still had the prized position on her lap. The Exceed grinned at Gajeel and Gajeel very maturely stuck his tongue out at his cat. Again… it had only been five minutes and Gajeel was having the separation blues.

"I don't think I messed up the story shorty."

"What?" Pantherlily decided to reply since Levy was giving Gajeel the dumbest looking stare she could ever muster. She would learn with time that the dumb as shit stare would become common place between her and Gajeel as a sign of their relationship.

"I think this Prince Seigfried dude was the one who fucked up. I mean come on. It's a fairy tale, there's supposed to be a happy ending and the happy ending comes when the Prince realizes that the lady, Odile or whatever, isn't his one night love, O-Odette. Fuck yeah, I got it right bookworm, see, see I told you I would get it right eventually!" It was very obvious that Gajeel was glad he didn't have to deal with such similar names for similar looking people in real life.

"Have you yet to realize that not all fairy tales have a happy end?" Levy asked as she leaned her chin on her hand.

Gajeel blinked. "Uh…"

"There was the Three Little Pigs, where in one version the wolf eats everyone, in about half of Little Red Riding Hood stories Little Red gets devoured and definitely at least loses her innocence, Beauty and the Beast…" Levy grinned, "nah that one has a happy ending, never mind. There was Sleeping Beauty, who married her rapist and suddenly had two children she had never planned for, Cinderella who had to use marriage to escape a household of abuse, Swan Lake that ended with a double suicide and last but not least in…"

"I get your point, stop using our fairy tales as your examples," Gajeel pouted, "We got pretty happy endings…" Gajeel reflected on their little adventure with pleasure. Much pleasure considering that he wasn't stalking Levy in the library any more and was actually having civil conversations with her (even if she was slightly annoyed with him… he thought it was cute).

Levy grinned, "Don't take this to heart… but it was probably due to your meddling that we got such happy endings."

Pantherlily scoffed, "Imagine that. Adding Gajeel to fairy tales guarantees happy endings. Tell this to someone not in Fairy Tail and they might die from laughter."

Levy giggled as she patted Pantherlily on the head and scratched behind his ears as Gajeel sulked in his spot high above. "Tell this to someone in Fairy Tail and they would still be hard pressed to believe you."

"Oi!"

"Good point Levy, good point."

"I liked our happy endings shorty."

Levy smiled up at him and waved him back down from the window to rejoin her back at her side, "I like our happy ending too." He had been away from her for five minutes too long.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Time on The Fairy's Tale<strong>

And then Levy realized that her choice in regards to dealing with Gajeel's confession had been mercilessly taken away from her. She wouldn't be able to tell him a single thing.

"Oi! Bookworm!"

Levy perked up the sound of his voice as the pain in her chest continued to throb mercilessly at her core. That was when she realized that she was naked. Nothing but sand covered her whole entire body.

"Bookworm!"

Levy found that her immediate urge to reply to his call was thwarted by her lack of voice and the silver lining to her lack in speech beamed at her brightly. If she had replied, he would have found her and that would have been some kind of awkward. Levy wasn't totally ready to bare it _all _out to him quite yet.

"Shorty! I swear that if you're just playing hide and seek I'm going to…"

* * *

><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

I'm ignoring the new discovery we have made about Gajeel in the most recent chapter... simply because in my story the tournament hasn't even happened yet MWAHAHAHAHA : D

I hope no one has a problem with the Extra being set in the future. Gajeel and Levy have always been about the journey anyways. It was an inevitable end... imagine if I didn't make it happen now HAHA... maybe I should do that... nah

Levy has a little bit of an evil rant... I wonder where she got that from? Cough...

Hope everyone enjoyed. Once again, I love you all!


	8. The Seventh Fairy's Tale

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

* * *

><p><strong>The Seventh Fairy's Tale<strong>

Levy felt like she had sand in her throat when she woke up and suspected that that was actually the case when she noticed the surroundings around her. She was lying on the beach in the midst of seaweed with the ocean lapping delicately at her toes. Looking right and looking left Levy blinked blearily to get the salt out of her eyes before she realized that she was in immense and utter pain.

Rolling on the sand Levy clutched at her chest tightly as tears sprung to her eyes and the urge to vomit built up at the base of her throat. All she wanted to do was scream… but then she found that she quite couldn't.

Her eyes widened as the pain in her chest subsided slightly at the shock of her useless throat as she grappled futilely at where her voice box was. She couldn't speak. Levy's eye clouded up more as she experienced for the first time a terror even worse than pain or torture. She couldn't use words. Words were half of her life.

And then Levy realized that her choice in regards to dealing with Gajeel's confession had been mercilessly taken away from her. She wouldn't be able to tell him a single thing.

"Oi! Bookworm!"

Levy perked up the sound of his voice as the pain in her chest continued to throb mercilessly at her core. Her mouth opened to call out to him but once again nothing but air was expelled from her lips.

That was when she realized that she was naked. Nothing but sand covered her whole entire body.

"Bookworm!"

Levy found that her immediate urge to reply to his call was thwarted by her lack of voice and the silver lining to her lack in speech beamed at her brightly. If she had replied, he would have found her and that would have been some kind of awkward. Levy wasn't totally ready to bare it _all _out to him quite yet.

"Shorty! I swear that if you're just playing hide and seek I'm going to…"

Levy snorted as Gajeel didn't dare to finish his threat. The most he had done to her so far in this whole entire fiasco was flick her on the forehead. That was not something particularly threatening and Levy knew that Gajeel wouldn't do anymore to her than that. He wouldn't ever hurt her in that way again. She knew that now; having that hook finally out of her stomach felt better than she had ever imagined it would be.

The sword through her gut though, was really putting a damper on that revelation.

Levy slowly picked herself off of the ground despite the pain, looked around to see if there was anything she could hide behind before Gajeel finally found her bared to the world. There was a small bolder on the other end of the beach, but she was small as well, so that shouldn't have been any kind of a problem at all. Slowly Levy took a wobbly step forward as though it was a foreign concept to her. When her foot touched the ground again, Levy immediately confirmed what fairy tale they had landed in.

It had already been obvious with the missing voice and the sword through her chest, but now with the pain in her feet Levy knew that she was the doomed Little Mermaid. Levy tumbled to ground just as Gajeel rounded onto the beach and Levy wondered just how well she would be able to hide the fact that she was in immense pain from him. Considering the fact that she could barely walk straight… she was pretty sure that this whole entire "don't make Gajeel worry" scheme was going to go up in Natsu intensity flames.

"Shit bookworm! Put on some clothes!" Gajeel almost seemed to squeal as he covered his face childishly with the palms of his hands. Levy turned her head to look over her shoulder and glare at him. Glaring was good, glaring hid away pain. Gajeel swallowed as he peaked between his fingers and inched closer to her. "Oh… you don't have… clothes to put on…"

Slowly and with his eyes squeezed ridiculously and amusingly tightly, Gajeel peeled his shirt off and tossed it over to her. The white shirt piled over her head as Levy quickly pulled it over her shoulders and buttoned up the front. She had always known that Gajeel was at least twice her size, but the dress like proportions of his shirt on her was kind of preposterous. "Why didn't you answer my call bookworm?"

Levy looked up at him with her puppy like eyes and pouted with her bottom lip stuck out. She touched her throat and then shook her head hoping that the problem was obvious. "Can't speak shorty?"

Levy nodded.

"I don't remember reading anything about girls who couldn't speak."

Levy made the motion of sighing. She didn't really know if she thought it was a good or bad thing that he knew nothing. Good that he had no idea that she felt like she had a sword sticking into her gut and that sitting and waving pitifully at him made her ache, bad that now they would not be able navigate through this tale with ease.

"So… am I a prince again?"

Levy nodded.

"Then let's get you back to my castle, where ever the hell it is, and get some proper clothes on you. Stand up," Gajeel demanded as he held out a hand to her. Levy sucked in a breath as she grabbed his hand and hoisted herself up onto her feet. The pain in her chest combined with the pain in her feet was too much for her as her face contorted and she made the motion of gasping before she collapsed onto her knees. Tears ran down her cheeks and she swiped at them quickly hoping that he hadn't seen and that the sea air had covered up the salty smell.

"What's the matter bookworm?" Gajeel grunted, not quite being able to hide his worry (actually he was about to have a panic attack). He knelt down in front of her and casually flicked away the tears at the corners of her eyes that were still appearing despite her best efforts.

His heart was screaming at him to do something, anything more for the girl that was obviously in pain. Lily would be having a field day with the way that Gajeel was acting as the Iron Dragon Slayer nearly had (actually did have) a panic attack when Levy smiled at him weakly.

"What kind of bloody fairy tale is this?" Gajeel shouted angrily as he found himself to be absolutely useless and for Levy to be absolutely useless to help him help her. This was all just too confusing for him and there was the panic attack for a second time as he watched Levy try to stand up again only to crumble to her knees and clench her eyes.

Gajeel held out held out his hand all over again. Levy looked at the large palm before swatting it away and standing up on her feet. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to straighten her face into something that wouldn't obviously terrify the Dragon Slayer, but Gajeel's eyes were still wider than Levy had ever seen them. Suddenly the garnet irises narrowed as he hissed and lifted himself on to his feet with her. Without a moments notice, Levy was suddenly hoisted into the air and he was carrying her bridal style across the beach and to his castle.

Levy couldn't particularly wail but she did manage to struggle enough to smack him on the head a couple times for his impudence. All Gajeel did was grunt at each impact and then glare at her some more. "Stop that!" He refused to let her go.

Levy shook her head and pointed at the floor with as much bravado as she could muster. Gajeel shook his head and hissed at her again, "No!"

Levy glared at him. "If getting on your feet causes you pain then you just won't use your stupid feet!"

And then Levy resigned herself to never tell him that she had a sword piercing through her chest if he was already reacting this badly to her feet feeling like she was walking on coals.

With more strength than Levy knew that she had, she kicked Gajeel squarely in the chest knowing that the blow wouldn't do more than knock the breath out of his lungs and hopped out of his grip.

To make sure that he got her point she began hoping around like a lunatic and skipping around him before dancing around his overly large body despite the pain. And boy was she in pain. Her point probably wasn't coming across all too well with the tears pooling in her eyes.

But Levy did not want to be hefted around like the biggest burden on this here earth until the fairy tale decided to release them from its clutches. She was a mage, she could deal with this kind of pain and at least try to hide it. (Plus the fact that he had carried her bridal style kind of irked her.)

"Stop doing that!" Gajeel shouted as he tried to catch her. Levy ran a fair distance away and stomped her feet, kicking sand up everywhere.

"I said stop!" Stomp, stomp, _chase_, run, stomp.

"Stop it!" Run, stomp, _dive_, leap, stomp, stomp.

Gajeel caught up with her and flung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Levy reacted accordingly, "Stop slapping me!"

Triple smack.

"For the love of…"

Quadruple smack.

"I'm going to…"

Super powerful hundred smacks in a second technique.

Gajeel hefted her back up in front of him so that he was glaring at her in the eyes, "Stop hitting my ass!"

Levy crossed her arms in defiance as she pointed at the ground again. Her eyes were shining with a bold determination signaling that she was _okay_, and that it wasn't _that bad_.

Gajeel obviously didn't believe her but grunted with consent as he set her down and crossed his arms. He knew that she would kick his face again next and then some more unnecessary chasing would probably ensue. "Fine, fine, just as long as you stop moving unnecessarily!" He had always known that the craziness of Fairy Tail had to be found somewhere in the little bookworm and it just had to of been in her stubbornness.

"Walk about around while you're in pain. When you fall over from agony, I won't be there to catch you." But contrary to his statement, as the two walked toward the castle, Gajeel didn't stray more than an arms length away from Levy, just in case she stumbled. Actually he had tripped over a couple rocks because instead of looking forward he had his gaze constantly trained on her.

Every time Levy _was_ the one to stumble Gajeel practically threw himself to the ground at her feet and when he looked up at the still standing mage he would always have this large eyed, bewildered look on his face. Levy couldn't stop inwardly laughing at the awkward yet ridiculously sweet man.

When they finally arrived at the castle and one of Gajeel's maids finally got Levy into some proper clothing, Gajeel realized that Levy had looked about five hundred times better in his overly large shirt. He slammed his face into his bowl of soup, to Levy's utter shock, mumbling about how that stupid guild had absolutely and totally ruined him.

Levy tentatively poked him in the cheek as he lifted his face out of the soup. Levy made the action of laughing before she picked up her napkin and delicately tried to get as much of the liquid off of his face as possible. Gajeel just grunted at her as he crossed his arms and sneered.

Levy made the motion of giggling again before she stood up, Gajeel following her hurriedly tipping over his chair all the while. Levy pointed out the large windows of the castle and to the town near by. "No," Gajeel grunted as he caught her drift.

Levy unleashed her weapon. Gajeel screwed up his nose in unimaginable shapes as he sighed, "Fine… but we are taking a coach." He couldn't fight her. He seriously couldn't fight her; now he regretted so desperately wanting to experience her ultimate weapons himself.

Levy tipped her head to the side in a simple question before he shook his head and picked her up by the back of her dress. Levy struggled fiercely before she resigned herself to her fate and flopped useless back and forth as Gajeel demanded for servants and for a coach that Levy was pretty sure he didn't even know he had. Thank goodness he was actually a prince that had everything, everything but a driver for said coach.

For the first time the silence between the two of them was unbearably awkward as Gajeel pulled on the horses reigns as the both of them lazily rolled down toward the town. Levy couldn't even do anything about the silence as she just idly watched the countryside go by.

Gajeel was obviously thinking about his ludicrous declaration to the 'world'. Well at least Levy thought. That was all that she was thinking about after all.

Slowly she turned toward Gajeel and looked at his garnet eyes before turning her gaze down to his lips. Levy wondered if what she had heard in Swan Lake had all been a dream of hers, concocted out of her bizarre imagination and her sudden realizations. He hadn't said anything about it since they had dropped into this world and Levy didn't have the capacity to ask. Levy sighed soundlessly as the carriage suddenly came to a halt as music flowed into her ears.

Levy perked up slightly before she tossed herself over the side of the coach. "What the hell are you doing shorty?" Gajeel roared as he too threw himself over the side of the coach and tied the reigns of the horses to the nearest tree that he could find. He was sure it wouldn't really matter anyways if he lost the horses (considering that they were fictional) but they needed them to get home or else he knew Levy would be stubborn enough to demand to walk the whole entire way. The idiot was already running around the town like her pain didn't matter.

"For the love of… do you like pain or something bookworm?" Gajeel questioned as he resisted the urge to scoop her up into his arms just so that she wouldn't feel any more hurt.

Levy grinned at him as they turned the corner and suddenly they were in a little square where a number of the towns people where dancing. Levy saw the Little Mermaid equivalences of Jet and Droy prance around with a much nicer looking Cana and Evergreen. Elfman was also joining the ruckus and if anything, he looked like he was trying to woo the female Raijinshuu with manly bravado. It was a precariously odd sight.

That was when Levy remembered that the prince in the Little Mermaid had loved to watch the girl dance and Levy turned her head to glance at Gajeel wondering how he would take it if she started prancing around (again) as well. It kind of irked her that she thought it would be funny to see Gajeel's ears blow off his head… figuratively of course. Levy quite liked the fact that Gajeel had ears. They turned cute colours at interesting times.

What she wanted to see the most though was how he would feel if they started dancing _together_. They had only just missed their chance back in Beauty and the Beast. With her resigned fate and the hopping of her toes, Levy grabbed Gajeel's hand and dragged him into the fray.

"Bookworm, no!" Gajeel scolded like a cross mother as he tried to make her stand still so that she wouldn't feel any _freaking_ pain. Even he didn't enjoy pain this much, but the blue haired mage just kept yanking at him and throwing herself in and out of his arms so that Gajeel couldn't help but crumble… again. "Fine." Gajeel could actually hear Pantherlily laughing at him.

Maybe though… this was a hint as to why Levy had forgiven (fairly) easily for bolting her to a tree. Gajeel shook his head and scrunched up his nose. Just no.

Levy's eyes lit up like stars as Gajeel took her under the armpits.

"But you have to dance on top of my feet."

Levy pouted. She wanted to shout that she wasn't a kid anymore.

"You're too short to not have this awkward," Gajeel grinned as he set her down so that her soles were balanced on his feet before he moved his hands to reach around her waist.

If Levy could tease she would have yelled "Lies!" right to his face. Standing on his feet didn't make her substantially taller, but she supposed she would let him have his way just this once. He had encompassed her in his arms without bother many times before too. Granted, most of those times she was a sack of potatoes… but she would never, ever forget Beauty and the Beast. He had held her tenderly there… and they had almost danced properly before the spell had moved them on. She really did love that particular fairy tale.

Gajeel began to twirl around awkwardly while trying to keep her feet on his toes. Levy wanted to laugh in glee as she realized that this was probably the first time that Gajeel had ever danced with anyone ever. She was one of his firsts; she wanted to be many of his firsts. Her face blushed as she looked up into his focused garnet eyes. She wanted to be all his lasts.

And at the moment she was glad she couldn't talk because she was sure that she would have blurted all of that out if she could. It was nice dancing with Gajeel, even though it was awkward and he was terrible at it. Levy leaned her cheek on his chest and smiled. This was nice.

After the music had stopped and Gajeel had decided that he had been stupid enough for long enough Levy had demanded that they go visit the lagoon that she had once again seen from his castle windows. How she managed to do this without any words? He had not a clue (it probably had to do with their telepathic connection). Gajeel would make his servants news paper those damn windows when he got back.

"I don't know how to row a boat," Gajeel stated bluntly as they sat on the floating vessel about an arms length away from shore.

Levy stared at him as though that was the most absurd thing that she had ever heard. It was… considering this was Gajeel and the task was rowing a freaking boat.

Leaning forward Levy shamelessly took his hands, because she knew that she could, and held them over the oars before pushing his arms to row. Gajeel blushed slightly as how stupidly easily they were moving away from the edge of the lagoon before he swatted her hands away. They drifted in a circle for ten minutes as Levy clutched at her stomach, not quite laughing, as Gajeel tried to make simple motions and failed incredibly.

"How are your feet?"

Levy smiled at him (and his lame attempt to try and distract her from his failure) and nodded as they drifted with the waves. Gajeel had left the task of rowing for when they needed to get back to shore. Surely he didn't want to look silly in front of Levy any longer than he had to. "Is that a yes?"

Levy looked as him and wrote on his palm "Fine." He wrapped his palm around her fingers tenderly as he gave her a pitifully pained expression. She smiled at him happily and Gajeel couldn't help but look at her lips and smile back.

"There… you see her…. sitting there across the way… she don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her…" Gajeel blinked as he swore that Pantherlily was once again voicing Gajeel's thoughts as he stared at Levy and ran his thumb across her knuckles, "And you don't know why but you are dying to try… you want to… _kiss_ the girl."

"Holy fuck!" Gajeel shouted as he reeled back and let go of Levy's hands as he realized that he was staring at her lips. When the _hell_ had his gaze landed there? He looked around him trying to figure out if Pantherlily was actually roaming around and doing what Pantherlily did best.

Levy had mastered the art of keeping a straight face because of the whole sword through gut thing but she almost lost it when Gajeel stared at her expecting her to hear the voices in his head too. They weren't voices in his head, she could hear Lily sing and she had seen Pantherlily and Happy flying around, but messing with Gajeel was ridiculously cute.

"Yes you want her, look at her you know you do. Possible she want you too, now there is only one way to ask her…"

"Tell me you hear this… please, _please_ fucking tell me you hear this shorty," Gajeel muttered as he shifted his eyes back and forth. It was not helping that he was flashing back to their conversation in the last fairy tale with the dumb swans. What was it about actions speaking louder than words for the little blue haired girl? "Oh fuck…"

Levy put her best 'what are you talking about?' face on.

Gajeel clenched his jaw as he tried to act non-chalant at the 'voices in head.' "…float along and…"

"AYE! AYE! AYE!"

"Okay! Now _that_ was not in my head!" Gajeel roared as he shot up from his seat on the boat and tried to hunt down the blue and black exceed.

Levy would have wheezed out in giggles if she hadn't been mute and Gajeel hadn't stupidly flipped the boat in his abrupt standing. Seriously… did this man know nothing about rickety dinghies?

Levy sighed again at the memory before Gajeel flicked her on the forehead. They were back in the carriage and were on their way back to the castle under the stars of the night sky. Gajeel hadn't been successful in hunting down Pantherlily. He knew exactly what she was remembering and the tips of his ears turned red. He was a doomed man and he didn't quite care. No one was around either so he would enjoy the fact that his clumsiness amused her.

Macao was the attendant that took back their horses when they arrived back at the castle and Gajeel couldn't quite keep the scowl off his face when he watched Levy _skip_ back into the castle. Hurling iron at someone wouldn't make him feel any better about the fact that the girl still wasn't taking her pain seriously. Hurling iron at people almost always made him feel better too.

Levy turned around to face him and made a gesture for sleep as she tipped her head over and rested her cheek on the back of one of her two hands. He grunted in reply, "Get going then."

Levy smiled again before she ran back up to him and took his hand. Quickly she wrote, "Thank you" before she scurried up the stairs and to where her bedroom was supposed to be. Gajeel blinked and stared at his hand. For a moment he contemplated the fact that she had just used the lamest excuse to touch him. Did that mean she wanted to touch him?

His eyes hardened as he clutched his fist. He shook his head as he heard the door of her bedroom close before he relaxed, "Fuck…"

Gajeel sighed as he ran his hands through his hair and slumped slightly. He had no idea what was going through her mind at the moment and this all stemmed from the fact that he wasn't sure if she had heard him in Swan Lake. At the beginning he was sure that she had to have because she was never too far from him in any of the fairy tales, but with the way she was acting around him… innocent and yet dead sexy… he really had no idea. She was always innocent and deadly sexy though so he was kind of in an endless loop.

He wanted the non singing version of Pantherlily at his side to tell him what the hell to make of that.

After Cinderella Gajeel just couldn't figure her out anymore. Something had changed in that fairy tale and he didn't know what. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had had excessive amounts of cleavage (it actually kind of did, but Gajeel would never know this).

Gajeel's head suddenly snapped up as he looked around. His ears twitched. His eyes narrowed as he span on his heel and perked up his ears even more. "Impossible…" he murmured as he walked toward the door and threw it open. What he was hearing got louder as his garnet eyes glowed in the dark. "She can't speak… how the hell can she sing?" He shook his head, "Shorty is sleeping…" He looked right and left wondering what the hell to do before he made his choice. He was out on the sandy beaches before he knew that his feet were even moving.

When Levy woke up the next morning to Macao gossiping loudly outside her door Levy could have sworn that they were talking about Gajeel and marriage. That was silly… Levy hadn't been that successful the previous night unless she had done some very, _very_ indecent things while sleep walking. Levy was pretty sure she wasn't a sleepwalker, especially an indecent one.

And then she realized it. Just like how she realized it in Beauty and the Beast. This wasn't mainly the story book version of the Little Mermaid… this stupid fairy tale had some movie elements in it too. Pantherlily singing should have signaled that to her right off the bat. How could she have been so _stupid_? Levy had never bolted up from her bed so fast in her life as she rolled off the mattress and threw open her door.

Macao shouted in panic as the girl he was gossiping with (Laki?) also widened her eyes. Levy looked back and forth before she shoved her way right past them and made a beeline for the front door where she had stupidly left Gajeel by himself last night. Why hadn't she realized this before? Tears sprung to her eyes due to a totally different form of pain.

In the novel version the Little Mermaid didn't have to kiss the prince to seal her humanity. She had to marry him. That would explain why Pantherlily had been singing about kisses. She had to get to Gajeel.

Why the hell had she even let him go the previous night? She should have hung on and never ever let go.

She passed by Lucy who helpfully shouted at her that Gajeel was on the beach. Why was it that only Lucy was the most helpful person in all these fairy tales? Everyone else was such a _hindrance_.

Levy's feet burned from the pain as she grabbed onto corners to go around them faster and door frames to launch her self out of the castle sooner. It didn't matter that she felt like she was being burned inside out by Natsu's fire. She needed to stop whoever the evil witch was from kissing or marrying, whatever, Gajeel first.

That _bitch_ whoever she was. If it was Juvia again Levy wouldn't even think twice about clawing out the witch's eyes.

And then Levy made it to the beach and saw the boat that was docked on the marina down a kilometer or so from where she had woken in this fairy tale. She could see Gajeel's silhouette as he massaged the shoulders of the imposter, the woman that had stolen Levy's voice.

The last person she had expected the evil sea witch to be was a grown up version of Wendy. If evil looked bad on Gildarts… then evil looked disastrous on Wendy's face as the girl waved her fingers mockingly at Levy from the boat's deck.

Levy growled. Why the _fuck_ did the evil sea witch also have to have _her_ blue hair?

Levy sneered as she dashed across the beach trying not to let the fear incase her heart or the anger make her irrational.

It was too late in terms of her rationality as thoughts zoomed through her head while her feet hit the sand. She had always known that Natsu and Lucy would get together and they had… but that left two dragon slayers in the guild. Why wouldn't they get together since they understood each other's pain? Why wouldn't they get together if each of their powers complimented the others'?

If Levy had been scared of the threat of Juvia (with the shared past)… she was terrified of what would happen when Sky _Dragon Slayer _Wendy was all grown up (blue hair and all). She didn't think that this spell was strong enough to dig this deep into her heart. It was almost pathetic.

So when Levy reached the marina, only to have the boat already launch to sea, Levy threw herself off the dock and waved her limbs uselessly in the water. She wouldn't let anyone have Gajeel, stupid spell or not. Sky Dragon Slayer or not! Longer, prettier blue hair or not!

She didn't want to live these kind of horrors… when she got her voice back she would make sure that threats like this never happened again.

She would _take_ Gajeel and then neither Juvia or Wendy could be a threat. She knew now. Levy paddled uselessly after the ship before she suddenly felt a pressure on her shoulders. "Shalala…"

If Levy could praise, she would have screamed Pantherlily's name in wonder. The Exceed smiled at her as he flew them over to the large vessel and dropped her on the deck. Landing with a thump and a roll Levy sprung to her feet and gazed directly into Gajeel's soulless red eyes as he stared at the intruder to his wedding day.

Levy choked as she reached her hand out to him. Gajeel blinked at her before he turned back to the laughing woman at his side. He no longer _saw_ her. He only… heard… her…

"Hello there Levy," sea witch Wendy grinned with the bookworm's voice as she grasped onto Gajeel's arm. Gajeel responded immediately to Levy's voice and dug his nose into Wendy's blue hair. "Don't you think it was so easy to turn him to me?"

"You enchanted him!" Levy wanted to scream but couldn't. She clenched her fist tightly as she kept her gaze on the oddly puppy like Gajeel as he still continued to cuddle up to Wendy as though it were the most natural thing in the whole entire world.

The sword that had been sticking into her gut had nothing on this kind of pain.

Wendy merely snickered as she saw the shine in Levy's eyes, "Poor you… not being able to talk. You know it was your voice that allowed me to take him into my grasp in the first place." Levy detested her voice like burning as she watched Gajeel continue to respond to the sound by wrapping his arms around Wendy's waist and breath her scent.

She had to remind herself that he was under an enchantment. That what he was doing couldn't possibly be out of his own free will because _damn it_… he had confessed to her in front of the whole entire world because he couldn't even _say_ he loved another much less _actually_ love another.

Levy kept herself together with these thoughts as Gajeel's hand wrapped around Wendy's like his hand so often wrapped around Levy's.

Levy snarled as she approached the girl that was nothing like the friend she had back home. She wouldn't regret what she was about to do. This grown, devilish woman was not Fairy Tail's Wendy.

"Now he's wrapped around my little finger," Wendy sighed as she grasped Gajeel's chin and made him turn to face her face to face, "Maybe next he'll be wrapped around my tongue?"

That _did_ it.

Levy launched herself at Wendy and punched her right in the nose with her little fist. Turned out that Levy would have been pretty okay in a fistfight if Gajeel had been in danger (which he actually had been) way back in Little Red Riding Hood.

Wendy screamed in horror as she was pushed back and out of Gajeel's embrace with a broken nose. Levy snapped her head to glare at the Iron Dragon Slayer's still empty eyes as he began to move toward Wendy and haul her off her feet princess style. Levy just knew that he would haul that girl princess style. He had to. He could only haul around Levy around like a potato sack. It was their thing. It was a sign that he loved her, was comfortable with her. That he was okay with touching her. This was why she had felt so odd when he had hefted her up bridal style earlier.

She wanted to call him an idiot, an asshole… every bad thing that came to her mouth… but it wouldn't come out… so first…

She grabbed onto the front of what was supposed to be his wedding clothes and pulled him away from the sea witch with all of her strength. When he was facing her she pulled him down to her level. Bright brown eyes met with dull garnet. Without a second thought Levy smashed her lips against his and shoved her tongue into his mouth.

Gajeel snapped out of his trance faster than Happy shouting "Aye!" as his garnet eyes widened to the size of saucers. Levy continued to wrap him around _her_ tongue as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kicked Wendy away as the evil witch attempted to approach again while screaming bloody murder. A love confession would have easily been disrupted… Levy would be damned before she would let anyone get between this.

Only when Levy (and not Gajeel, because Gajeel didn't matter any more at this point. He had been the one _stupid_ enough to fall under such a dumb spell) no longer had the capacity to breath did she retract her tongue from his mouth and hum. She planted her forehead into his and inwardly laughed at the fact that she could feel a bump growing on his head against her skin.

Gajeel, still frozen, only managed to reply with a healthy, "Urgullulllahh."

Levy unwound her hands from his soft, black hair and turned on her heel preparing to give evil witch Wendy another beating before the ship tilted and flipped, sending all of them into the water. Gajeel grabbed Levy before she could claw at Wendy's face and the water turned into lights as the spell finally let them go.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra: Gajeel reading The Little Mermaid… After the fact…<strong>

A book slammed down in front of Levy's face. The blue haired girl turned pale fast than the speed of light and Pantherlily wondered if this was a good enough reason to kick Gajeel's ass. "A _sword_… though your fucking gut?"

Nope, sadly it wasn't a reason.

Levy laughed as she turned her gaze up at Gajeel, "What are you talking about Gajeel?"

"It wasn't just your feet, you had a sword through your gut?"

"You have to realize Gajeel that there were also many elements that were taken from the animated movie version."

"Know the spell, that's total bullshit bookworm."

Levy sighed, "Damn me and my forgetfulness. I was going to get Natsu to burn all those books too but I just couldn't."

"You don't hide these kind of details from me!"

"Well what can you do about it now, the whole entire ordeal is over, so its not like it matters anyways."

Gajeel frowned at her very conclusive and true logic before he shook his head. "I could kiss it better."

"What?" Levy asked deadpanned. Pantherlily let out a loud snort.

"I could kiss it better," Gajeel stated again.

"It would take a wonderfully crazy feat of skill to kiss my gut Gajeel," Levy snorted.

"Well then I could kiss the next best thing," Gajeel grinned as he reached down and hefted Levy over his shoulder while blatantly running his hands over her chest.

"Lily!" Levy cried.

Pantherlily kicked Gajeel in the forehead with little reservation and saved Levy before she could go down with the large Dragon Slayer. "You guys suck," Gajeel groaned as he rubbed the growing lump.

"It's the middle of the day. Show some restraint."

"I have plenty of fucking restraint."

Levy and Lily looked at each other before they both snorted. Gajeel frowned at the fact that his two favourite people where plotting together against him. "Fine I'll go do the next best thing."

"And what would that be?"

"I'm going to go fuck up the barmaid's boy toy."

Levy grinned, "Really, he's the second option to me? Mirajane is going to kill you, you know."

Gajeel glared, "Not like that!"

Levy burst into a fit of laughs, "I didn't even mean it like that." Pantherlily chuckled.

"Arg… screw both of you."

"Love you too Gajeel."

Gajeel turned around faster than the speed of light to stare wide eyed at Levy. She gave him a wink as she went back to her studies.

Pantherlily sat on Gajeel's head for the rest of the day, brushing his tail periodically across Gajeel's face, as the Iron Dragon Slayer went _skipping_ around the guild. Gajeel didn't mind, he was stupidly happy. It was funny seeing how everyone else was reacting.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Time on the The Fairy's Tale<strong>

"Levy…"

Levy's eyes widened, "You used my name!"

Gajeel sighed, "Levy…. I'm no good for you."

* * *

><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

I swear... that I wasn't going to do the song. And then the scene came up and I was like awww I want Pantherlily to hang around. And then I realized who else would totally make fun of Gajeel's thought process this much and know it so well. And so it happened. We have Pantherlily singing! Also listen to the song if you wanna know exactly who Happy is LOL. It works so well...

Also jeez... was it that obvious what the next fairy tale was? That was me trying to choose a scene to make it unobvious. Turns out I suck at such actions. Oh well... I tried LOL.

The next chapter is the lasttttt. It will put the "after the fact"'s into a lot more context.


	9. Epilogue: The Final Fairy Tail

The Fairy's Tale

Summary: Levy's in trouble when she finds herself trapped in a spell revolving around a series of fairy tales. Sadly things don't go quite as planned with Gajeel lurking around and ruining every fairy tale there ever was in his most Gajeel like fashion. GaLe

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue: The Final Fairy Tail<strong>

A dark murmur clouded the edge of Levy's mind as she shifted in her sleep and pressed her face closer to the warmth that was under her. However, her movement, instead of making the murmurs go away, amplified them to a proportion that Levy knew for a fact that only one place was capable of.

Her eyes snapped open and she knew that she was right. She was back in her favourite Fairy Tail. "Levy!" Mirajane squealed as she pried Levy off of her warm pillow and Levy blinked owlishly at the just waking Gajeel. He stared at Levy transfixed, as the noise in the library seemed to simply rise.

"Levy-chan!" Jet and Droy cried as they came up to Mirajane and whisked Levy out of the barmaid's arms for a tight hug, shielding her from Gajeel with their bodies and away from what they believed to be a mean glare.

Gajeel turned his head when he heard two terrible wails and stared as the drunken card maiden and Titania as they sobbed on each other's shoulders about something that had to do with bets. Then it clicked for Gajeel… "God damn it," he mumbled as he turned his head back to the ceiling and let out a long sigh, "I should have fucking known…" He was too tired as of the moment to go and destroy something.

"Let go of me," Levy squealed as she tried to get in gulps of air as more and more people began to pile on top of her demanding a hug. When Wendy appeared in front of her everyone finally backed off for just a second.

Wendy sniffed as she rubbed her tear ridden eyes, "It's okay Levy…"

"Huh…"

"I would have kicked and punched me too…"

"Huh." Levy looked over at Gajeel who was still staring at the ceiling. From the way he was positioned and the way that his mouth was moving, she just knew that he was letting out a string of profanities that would have sucked their guild right into hell. And then Levy rewinded slightly and focused back on his lips.

Her cheeks blazed like fire and suddenly the whole entire guild erupted into a fathom of cheers.

"It's okay since I was a part of finally getting you two together," Wendy grinned as she gave Levy an overly large bear hug. Suddenly the piling started on Levy again as more cheers and shouts rang through the library. Levy had never seen this many people in the room at once. She wondered if her precious desk and chair were all right.

"Silence!" Makarov boomed from his perch up high on the window where Levy would often gaze out at the moon. Right now the sun was shining from behind their guild master as he smiled brilliantly, "Mirajane!"

"Yes Master!" Mirajane giggled loudly as she stopped kissing Fried all over the face.

"Remember to split your earnings with me!"

And then that was when Levy saw Gajeel finally lose it. Screw the fact that he was exhausted. He was on his feet faster than she had ever seen him move and suddenly he was attacking anyone and everyone that was within range. As far as Gajeel was concerned, everyone in the library in that moment was equally guilty. Elfman, Gray and Natsu jumped into the fray of their own free will as Lucy sidled up to Levy's side along with Juvia, who kept her stare on Gray as his clothes were all suddenly lost.

Levy breathed in and out as she turned her gaze to Lucy who was rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, "I was right. I knew he would figure it out," Lucy laughed awkwardly.

"Figure what out? Lu-chan, you can't do this to me. Why is everyone here? Why is Gajeel…" Levy looked up at the man as he tackled the still sobbing Erza and dragged her into the mess… "Why is Gajeel suicidal?"

"Well Juvia guesses Gajeel-san has every right to be angry," Juvia chirped as her eyes shone like stars as Gray managed to land a good blow on Natsu's head. Lucy entreated Juvia to a glare as she shouted to Natsu to pick back up his game.

Levy nearly wailed when fire almost engulfed one of her bookcases before Pantherlily took the blow and dealt Natsu a good one right in the stomach. "Why? You guys…"

"Popcorn you guys? Fucking popcorn! Our lo—" Gajeel seemed to pause, "Our lives aren't a movie to be fucking enjoyed with fucking popcorn!"

The damage had already been done though as Bixlow and his dolls started zooming around the library chanting about Gajeel's "love story!", "love!". "They love, love!"

"Popcorn…." Levy murmured. It clicked. "_No_…" She snapped her head to stare at the laughing Lucy, "NOOOOOOOOOOO."

"Sorry Levy," Lucy grinned once again very sheepishly, "We saw the whole thing…"

Mirajane popped up over Levy's shoulder, "We actually orchestrated the whole thing. Isn't that right Fried, sweetheart?"

Fried with his face covered in kisses and his clothes severely disheveled could do nothing more than give Mirajane a thumbs up as he slumped against the wall clearly spent from Mirajane's display of appreciation.

Levy's eyes set on fire as she slowly turned toward Fried with her eye twitching, "That spell…"

Evergreen seemed to cackle from her spot not within the fray, "Fried wrote it."

"A success," Fried murmured as he touched a couple of kiss marks on his neck and cheeks, "More than just a success." If Mirajane hadn't attacked him the moment that the spell had completed itself Fried would have gone on boasting about how he had outsmarted Levy and that he had finally gotten his revenge for Fantasia. Fried didn't particularly like to be outsmarted and especially when his spell had been so crucial for...

Fried's eyes suddenly watered and shame sunk over his face as Mirajane let out a frustrated sigh, "Get over it. Laxus had to get that roll, it was written in the stars."

Evergreen scoffed, "His sense of fashion wasn't though, you demon."

Mirajane simply smiled innocently at Evergreen, "Was it not?" Evergreen shivered as she waved the Take Over mage away. She did not want to be Mirajane's next victim. Evergreen had been informed earlier that it was suspected that Gajeel had become Mirajane's primary target because he had stolen her spotlight away from the stage just one time… she didn't want to know what other small things could set Mirajane up to do something so drastic once again.

Evergreen also knew that she had a severe weakness in one… she took a look at the dust ball of a brawl, "Men do not over react to things such as popcorn!"… one very sexy take over mage that was much too easily accessible for any schemes by the barmaid demon. Evergreen could not believe that she had just called demon Mirajane's brother sexy… she was basically setting herself up for doom.

But back to the matter at hand.

Levy was about to claw out Fried's eyes. Lucy was holding back the solid script mage with the help of Juvia as Levy roared at the green haired man. Fried still continued to numbly touch Mirajane's kiss marks as Mirajane finally approached Cana and Erza, who had threatened herself out of the fight, for her winnings.

"Meddling should have been against the rules," Cana growled.

"Don't be a sour sport," Mirajane sang, "Your bet was for tomorrow and if I hadn't meddled then…"

A dark cloud hung over Erza's head. Her bet was so far off that she was pretty sure her pocket was emptied of her past three missions. "If this had been played with honor…" Erza muttered as she handed Mirajane the bag of cash. Mirajane, with a bit of pity, gave Erza a slice of cake to placate her. Erza probably would have won if you know… Levy and Gajeel hadn't been members of the ever-meddlesome Fairy Tail.

"Mirajane!" Levy cried, when she finally was no longer focused on killing Fried. After all the mage had only been a tool to Mirajane's evil plans.

Pantherlily shivered slightly from his place in the middle of the large clash hoping that Mirajane would never divulge his ultimate secret. Levy had proven herself to be a scary, scary woman. "How did you orchestrate this whole thing…? How did the spell work?"

Mirajane giggled brightly, "Is that really what you should be wondering about right now Levy? Isn't there something more important at hand?"

And as if on cue, because it was, Pantherlily grabbed Gajeel out of Elfman's arms and floated him above the brawl and toward where Levy was standing. Suddenly the fight (and destroy) instinct was no longer in the little bookworm as Gajeel was dropped right in front of her. She stared at his lips… and turned bright red.

Gajeel growled and glared back at the still giggling Mirajane before grabbing Levy by the shoulder, "Let's get out of here."

And as they ran out Mirajane pouted loudly, "But we got to see most of the love story! Why aren't we allowed to see the epic end?" The whole guild roared in agreement.

Gajeel couldn't of cared less as he whisked himself and Levy away to the one place that he could think of to end this all.

He set her down in their place of memories, in front of the tree in the middle of Magnolia.

Pantherlily didn't question Gajeel's decision as he hid himself in the leaves. He would be damned before he didn't see the resolution of his hard work.

"Levy…"

Levy's eyes widened, "You used my name!"

Gajeel sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Levy…. I'm no good for you."

Pantherlily had to shut down all of his reflexes as not to clobber Gajeel over the head. "Damn that stupid…"

"What?" Levy murmured, "But you… you said that you…"

Gajeel ran his hands through his hair, "So you did bloody hear that time," he murmured as he sighed again, "I'm shit for you Levy… total shit."

"Gajeel…"

"I even asked Lily to keep me away from you…" Lily blinked, he had forgotten about that… oh well, "Well as away as Lily possibly could handle. You know… you probably figured out what a fat mouth I have after that whole fucking fiasco so I… I never wanting to tell you Levy."

"But… what? Why?"

"I'm a monster."

"Gajeel!"

"A cold hearted, brutish monster who doesn't deserve—"

"No! What the—"

Gajeel sent his fist into the tree beside him. Splinters fell in every direction as Levy's eyes traced up to the faint scars, high on the tree, that were still left over after Gajeel's attack on Fairy Tail… on her. Eight nicks in the tree where he had bolted her wrists. "I'm a fucking monster Levy! Can't you see that? Don't you dare forget what I did to you. I can't feel this way for you… I shouldn't…"

Pantherlily paused as he sat in his spot. He had never heard the full story…. didn't know why Levy and Gajeel couldn't be in love… he didn't think it mattered, but… maybe it did… Pantherlily shook his head. No. No, it didn't.

Her brown eyes flashed. Then Levy snarled. The little bookworm bared her teeth and snarled at the Iron Dragon Slayer, "You _destroyed_ me; you tore me apart and left the bloody pieces everywhere Gajeel!"

Gajeel winced but didn't back away, "I know… and that's what I'm saying. Levy I can't…"

"So who are you… who the _fucking_ _hell _are you to decide who I should and shouldn't love? I am not _telling_ you that I love you Gajeel. I might never tell you that I love you, but I'm _demanding_ that you love _me_ because you have no right to do _otherwise_," Levy huffed, as her fervor died, "You have no right to do otherwise Gajeel. Not now… definitely not now…" And then Levy began to cry.

Large, round tears poured down her face while her fists clenched and her whole entire body shook.

Gajeel's heart tore, literally tore, as he gathered up the sobbing girl into his arms while he gritted his teeth and fought the ultimate battle with himself.

The spell had been just that, it had been a spell. They had been trapped in a world of fairy tales, a place of happy endings. This wasn't a spell; most people didn't get their happy endings and he… he didn't want to be the one to take that away from Levy.

Because he _would_ be the one to take it all away.

Gajeel looked down at the shaking girl in his embrace. Look at how his arms were already engulfing her. A bad move and he could so easily crush her.

"You can't do this… you can't do this," Levy chanted between her tears as she gripped tightly onto his tunic. "You can't say that just because that all happened in a spell that it never happened. You can't just say _can't_ and _shouldn't_ anymore. Gajeel _please_…"

He hugged her closer than he thought possible, "Levy…" But how could he help it when she knew what he was thinking? How could he help it when he knew what she was thinking?

"Please say it Gajeel. Please say it…"

"Levy…"

"You have no right Gajeel. You can't… you just can't break me apart again…"

"I love you Levy."

And then the bookworm cried even harder than before as Gajeel clenched his teeth and hoped with all his heart that their Fairy Tail would become their fairy tale.

* * *

><p>Gajeel was in a state of absolute and total bliss. A bliss so grand that he didn't particularly care that Lily's tail was nearly shoved up his nose and that the Exceed was curled up, like an actual cat, around the crown of his head. Gajeel turned his head to stare at the girl resting on his decidedly numb arm. He didn't care that it was numb; she was sleeping on his arm. She had been sleeping on his arm every night for a whole entire week now…<p>

And then it hit him.

It had been a week, a whole entire week.

He poked her in the side. He would get to see her sleeping face tomorrow night… and the night after that… and forever more if he could help it.

Levy mumbled and curled up into a tight ball burying her knees into his side. Gajeel poked her side again and murmured quietly, "Wake up bookworm."

"Go back to bed Gajeel…" Levy muttered as she sidled up to his side and flung her arm over his chest.

Gajeel nearly relented, like he usually did whenever Levy did this but his mission was more important. "Oi… shorty…" he continued to mumble.

Levy yawned and rubbed her eyes as she pouted cutely, "What do you want Gajeel?" She looked up to his bleary face. She squinted. Was he pouting? She squinted harder before she opened her eyes wide. Gajeel _was_ pouting.

"It's been a week…" Gajeel mumbled as he took a strand of Levy's blue hair and curled it around his finger.

"I know," Levy murmured with a smile on her face, "It's been a very good week."

"But a week, bookworm."

"Go back to using my name you big hunk of scrap metal."

Gajeel laughed his signature laugh as he continued to play with her slightly curly hair. "You haven't said it yet."

"Huh?"

"You haven't told me that you…"

Levy gave him _the look_ as a smirk stretched across her face. Gajeel had the gall to blush as he continued to pout.

Lily kept his eyes shut and his breathing steady as he inwardly smirked at his partner. Five year old child in love, that man was.

"I'm not going to tell you Gajeel."

"But…"

"You forced my hand Gajeel. I told you already… I might never tell you."

"Bookworm," Gajeel nearly, _nearly_ whined.

Levy grinned as she snuggled into his side, "It's also been a week and you haven't turned your hair to metal yet."

Gajeel's eyes glowed with a brilliant plan, "Then te—"

"But I guess I could wait for that," Levy giggled, "We have a lifetime after all." Gajeel grunted as he looked away from Levy as he tried not to shiver with total delight. Levy poked his cheek in amusement and he swatted her hand away with his own. Levy sighed in contentment when instead of fully batting her away he continued to simply hold onto her fingers as their hands dropped down to his chest. She was glad that it wasn't actually making him mad. "Gajeel…"

"What?" he grunted clearly still miffed at her.

"Do I really need to say it?"

"I said it," Gajeel replied grumpily.

Levy giggled again as she lifted herself off the bed and splayed the hand that he held against his chest as she leaned over him. She kissed him on the forehead and he blushed. "Do I really need to say it Gajeel?" She kissed him on the temple, on the cheek, on the chin, "Does it change anything if I tell you Gajeel?"

Gajeel looked up into her sparkling brown eyes as he continued to flush. "No… I guess not."

Levy smiled brilliantly at him and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "I didn't think so."

She flopped back over onto his arm and prepared to go back to sleep. Gajeel breathed out and squirmed like a happy kid before he wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes. Moments later he was suddenly harshly poked in the side. "What?" Gajeel mumbled.

"Do you like blue hair?"

"You have blue hair don't you?"

"But do you like _any_ blue hair?"

"I like your blue hair bookworm."

Levy smirked, "Good… now I don't have to fucking kick Juvia's and Wendy's butts."

Gajeel smirked, "Knew you were jealous."

"You should stop talking to him Levy. You're starting to sound like the big loaf," Pantherlily remarked as he continued to feign sleep and shove his tail up Gajeel's nose. Gajeel blew Lily's tail out of his face, now not worrying about waking up his cat and Levy giggled.

"I love you bookworm."

"Go back to sleep Gajeel."

"Damn it!"

"You're never going to outsmart her you know."

"Go back to sleep Lily!"

The trio fell back to sleep under the morning light.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra: Fairy Tail's Fairy Tale<strong>

A loud crash was heard from the library and before anything needed to be said, Mirajane had bounded over heads and bodies to get the best seat in the house. The other member's of Fairy Tail followed after her, flooding into the library like a river.

"Your plan is never going to work Mirajane!" Cana crowed loudly as she slammed her keg down on the library floor and took a seat on top of the empty barrel.

Mirajane span on her heel and smiled at Cana, "We'll see!"

"I cannot believe you can write spells that can project up giant screens."

"Spells!"

"Giant screens!"

"Project, project!"

Fried grinned at Bickslow, "Anything for revenge."

"Anything for your demon of a woman," Bickslow teased.

"I popped the popcorn!" Natsu shouted.

"I have the ice cold drinks!" Gray added.

"Why did it choose the three little pigs?" Lucy cried, "That's not romantic!"

Juvia coughed as she held up a book lying on the ground, "Juvia suspects that this was what Gajeel was reading before he got caught in the spell."

Everyone blinked at the rainy mage before they turned their eyes to the large screen that was being projected out of the scroll that Levy had deciphered. "Gajeel reads…" Evergreen murmured…

"About little pigs," Wendy chimed.

"Assign the rolls everyone assign the rolls!"

"Gajeel as the wolf!"

"Levy as the smart pig!"

"We'll be the dumb pigs!"

"I can't believe you guys just called yourselves dumb," Romeo grinned.

"Anything to be with Levy," Droy replied with a nod of his head.

* * *

><p><em>"Little pig, little pig, let me come in!"<em>

_"No, no, not on the hairs of my chinny chin chin!"_

_"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow this house in."_

"Oh wow… she's terrified…" Cana snorted.

"I feel a little bit guilty now…" Erza added.

Mirajane only continued to hum.

* * *

><p><em>"Good thing I was in the library when that stupid thing went off then."<em>

"FOOL!" Pantherlily bellowed.

* * *

><p>"That was cuter than I thought it would be," Mirajane muttered.<p>

"Oh it would be nice if Gajeel was a wolf again," Wendy chirped, "Like the one in the Little Red Riding Hood!"

"Oh then Levy would definitely be Little Red!" Lucy agreed.

"NO!" screamed Mirajane as fairy tale on the screen changed, "Do you know how sensitive this spell is?"

"Wow Mira, you'd make one hell of a scary grandmother…" Natsu laughed.

Fried smacked his forehead along with the rest of the guild.

Lucy held up her hands to high five her two comrades, "Good job us three." Wendy returned her high five in mild embarrassment and a smidgen of guilt.

"Good job for what Luce?"

* * *

><p><em>"Nope, definitely you bookworm."<em>

Romeo blinked, "Did he just smell her?"

"Do not question," Erza muttered, "Men…"

"That is how a man does it!" Elfman shouted.

"Have you ever done that?" Evergreen questioned. Elfman stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights.

* * *

><p><em>"That would explain why you smell so good."<em>

"Smooth…" the men muttered.

* * *

><p><em>"You really think I would let my boyfriend crawl though a window?"<em>

Everyone turned to Lucy and Natsu. Said girl shook her head, "Low blow Levy-chan… low blow…"

* * *

><p><em>"You've learned some horrible habits from that wolf! I will not let your sexual play with him dribble into your real life!"<em>

Everyone's faces were twisted into expressions of horror.

"Levy-chan! Our Levy-chan!" Droy and Jet cried from the images.

_"There is nothing sexual about biting!"_

"Wouldn't be too sure about that," Cana grinned.

* * *

><p>"Beauty and the Beast!" Natsu shouted. Everyone looked at him, "What… don't you think it's perfect?"<p>

"Yah…" Lucy replied slowly, "That's why its weird coming from you."

"That's kinda mean Luce."

Lucy shook her head and giggled, "Sorry." She kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

><p><em>"You don't have to look at me if you're going to cry."<em>

"Aww," Lucy squealed.

"That… was oddly sweet of him…" Erza mumbled.

"Oh admit it Erza. You're a total hopeless romantic," Mirajane grinned.

* * *

><p><em>"Oi! That isn't going to do anything."<em>

"Sometimes you have to wonder about Levy's sanity," Macao sighed as he covered Romeo's eyes.

"Hey dad! I'm totally old enough."

"Anyone sane would cover their eyes right now or else Gajeel will skewer you when he finds out," Juvia chirped knowingly as she pressed Gray's face into her chest.

* * *

><p><em>"Stupid fucking meddlers in every world those fucking four are."<em>

"We are not!"

* * *

><p>"Sleeping Beauty is pretty romantic," Bickslow grinned.<p>

"That's stupid, the woman is always asleep," Lisanna muttered.

Bickslow wiggled his eyebrows (though no one could see), "I know…"

* * *

><p><em>"I trust you… I trust you Gajeel."<em>

"K.O." Pantherlily grinned.

* * *

><p><em>"Is that my pretty princess you weak excuse for a lizard?"<em>

"NO! Laxus!" Fried bawled as he fell to his knees. Mirajane patted him on the head absentmindedly. Best decision that Jet and Droy had ever made.

* * *

><p><em>"Really? That's the one sound that you retain as a dragon?"<em>

"Really… that's the one sound he retains as a dragon?" the guild asked in unison.

* * *

><p><em>"You always get hurt unnecessarily when you change the plot of the story Gajeel."<em>

"Does that really have to do with anything?" Erza asked.

Fried shook his head, "Nope."

"Gajeel's just an idiot who always gets hurt on his own," Pantherlily clarified.

* * *

><p><em>"I just wanted to touch you."<em>

"K.O." Lisanna and Lucy screamed before they looked at each other and laughed.

* * *

><p>"Oh don't you think that Cinder Levy has a nice right to it?" Wendy asked. Mirajane smacked her forehead again. "Oh! I'm so sorry Mirajane!"<p>

"Stupid Gajeel, Levy-chan belongs to us," Droy mumbled.

"Haha, wouldn't it be funny if he was a woman or something," Jet crowed.

Satan Soul was suddenly on their heels.

* * *

><p><em>"But Gajeel! You make such a voluptuous woman!"<em>

_"They're real! They're real!"_

_"Try the very back of your closet. Though this probably means that your character is supposed to be all showy and well…Boing!"_

Gray narrowed his eyes, "Do you think Levy could be…"

"No!"

* * *

><p><em>"Guys don't like to be compared do they?"<em>

"Gray-sama would definitely win!"

"How would you know Juvia?"

"Who the hell wouldn't know Gray? By the way… you're not wearing pants," Lucy snickered.

* * *

><p><em>"Figure it out yourself shorty. Actually no, it would be better if you never know. I'm going to go make a scene."<em>

"That kind of resistance is manly!"

* * *

><p><em>"You pinned me to a bloody tree!"<em>

"Andddddd, she went there," Cana grinned, "Bad luck Mirajane."

"We're not done this yet!" Mirajane growled.

* * *

><p>"Swan Lake!" Cana cried, "Take that Mira! No happy endings for that one!"<p>

* * *

><p><em>"Your smile… the bird's… well… <em>your_ smile is nice."_

"Smooth." All the men nodded.

"Can't believe that Gajeel is capable of this," Cana muttered darkly.

* * *

><p><em>"You think that saying … <em>that_ is basic?"_

"I agree, do you think saying that is basic Luce?"

"I love you Natsu," Lucy grinned.

Natsu turned the colour of Erza's hair before he timidly stared at his fingers, "L-love you t-too, Luce."

* * *

><p><em>"I can't even tell the actual girl that I like that I love her! What the hell makes you think that I'm going to be able to tell a crappy copy of her that! You're not even a crappy copy you gloomy woman! You're nothing like the beautiful shorty!"<em>

No words could describe the chaos that ensued in the guild at Gajeel's words.

"He llllllikes her," Happy trilled.

* * *

><p>"I like fish," Happy mumbled.<p>

"Then you'd probably like the Little Mermaid," Lucy grinned.

Mirajane's eye twitched.

* * *

><p><em>"Stop hitting my ass!"<em>

"No, no Levy. Smack that ass," Cana grinned.

* * *

><p><em>"There… you see her…. sitting there across the way… she don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her…"<em>

"Didn't know you could sing Lily," Mirajane sang.

"Didn't know I could sing either."

_"AYE! AYE! AYE!"_

"Now that was expected," Romeo laughed. The guild joined in. Happy pouted.

* * *

><p><em>"Urgullulllahh."<em>

"Did Levy just…" Cana moaned.

"YES!" Mirajane screamed.

* * *

><p><strong>Somber's Corner<strong>

LOL LOL LOL... most recent episode (filler) of FT made my day. Gajeel is officially... a dork LOL. I will also stand by my statement that Gajeel doesn't know how to dance and what happened in that filler came after the events of this story where he learned LOL. Loved it beyond all possible reason though, spammed the scene like crazy. Those two are so freaking cute - if they don't become officially cannon (they practically already are)... I'm going to shoot someone LOL

Omg... I also love how both the most recent chapter and the filler snuck in some EverMan as well LOL... oh god this is totally epic beyond all possible reason.

Haha... don't the Extras for Swan Lake and the Little Mermaid have more context now that you know how Gajeel and Levy finished their little tale? Woot woot! Also... yes the extra was planned at the very beginning... that's why everything worked out so perfectly for Gajeel and Levy HAHA.

And finally (can't believe I'm using this word) THANK YOU everyone for making it to the end with me!

~And they all lived happily ever after...~


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